Boiling Point
by StormofSilver
Summary: I want to hate you. I want to hate you so freaking bad, but... I can't. I just can't, and it's tearing me apart. NaruSaku
1. Boiling Point

_And would ya look at that. Another NaruSaku story! WOOT! Just to let y'all know, this story has NO relation to **Let the Rain** **Fall** or **Shadow Fall**. Well actually I lied. Similar plotline. But it's not the same storyline. I was just inspired by a lovely person called **LovelessLife **because she sure knows how to leave reviews that make ya feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Not to mention **Symbiotic **for giving me a little more of an evil edge. Rant done. On with the story._

Disclaimer: _Uh. Insert clever disclaimer here._

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Hail pattered outside the empty Ichiraku bar, the miniscule chunks hitting the paved ground with a loud _smack _and rolling a little after they bounced. She let the repetitive sound echo in her ears and drown out every last thought in her busy mind. She couldn't think. She didn't _want _to think. All she wanted was to meet that knuckleheaded idiot, eat her ramen really fast, and get the heck out of there before she went insane. 

She didn't know why he even tried anymore. She wasn't interested. She still loved _him. _What was there not to get? She sighed as she rested her pale face in her hand. Her emerald eyes flickering with light, she glanced behind her. He was late again, as usual. She sighed, stirring a finger in her glass of water in front of her. She watched the water swirl gently at her touch, and the ice following. She heard the clinking noises of the solid water hitting the sides of her cup. It reminded her of a vortex, and of course that reminded her of Uzumaki Naruto. Everything seemed to remind her of Naruto these days.

"Still isn't here?" the old man asked, his daughter Ayame merely looking at her in curiosity.

"No," she sighed. "Not yet."

Honestly, she had better things to do! She could be out training, so she could bring the love of her life back to her. She could be hanging out with Ino, gathering tips to get a guy. Heck, she could be working on her healing techniques with her mentor, trying to master them! But no. She was out in the freezing hail with only a light shelter to protect her from the relentless skies. Letting the soothing sound overwhelm her once more, she sighed. At least this did one good thing: it was an excellent tranquilizer.

It hurt like hell every single time she thought of him. But she knew she wasn't going to give up, it was one of the few things she had left. But it seemed like Naruto was flat out determined to make it like that. Make her give up on him, when it was her one of her only goals in sight. But the pain was slowly getting more and more unbearable each day. It focused in her chest, stabbing and twisting like a kunai turning in her heart. She rested her face in her palm, fighting to keep the threatening wave under control. The cool air and the refreshing noise outside were helping, but it wasn't enough to stop it. Her pink hair fell around her face like a curtain as she disguised her pain. It felt like she was being stabbed and strangled at the same time.

But this time, she was strong enough to hold back the tears. This time, she was strong enough to smile even though it hurt so much just to do so. She was no longer that whiny twelve year old girl she once was, but there was still something wrong with her. Why couldn't he see how much she's changed? Why couldn't he just open his onyx eyes and see? He had the Sharingan, for Kami's sake. Shouldn't he be able to see? She buried her face in her hands, overwhelmed with confusion.

He was killing her, inside out. It felt like his hand was clutching her heart and soul, and gripping and gripping until the air was squeezed out of the youthful girl's lungs. With an alarming frequency, she often felt like all the air was sucked out of the world. She'd collapse from lightheadedness, and of course have that annoying brat at her case.

"Are you okay? Are you okay?" he'd ask in a panic.

"I'm fine!" she would snap, scrambling to her feet. "I'm just fine!"

The worst part was that she knew it was all just a lie.

A stupid lie that she told herself again, again, and again.

She wasn't okay at all. Everyday she thought of him. Everyday she wanted him. And everyday she just wanted him to come back. Those thoughts kept coming and wouldn't stop, just like an inevitable wave after wave. She thought that if he would just come back, that would be all right with her. But what if that was a lie too? It probably was, because for Haruno Sakura, nothing he did was ever enough. She always wanted more. And it killed her to know he would never comply with her wants and needs. She did everything he wanted for him, like a spaniel following him around or a servant hasty to impress her new master. But he never returned the favor.

"Sakura-chan."

Sakura whipped her head towards the voice, and she rolled her eyes once she saw the blonde hair and the oceanic blue eyes. But instead of being bright and lively like they always were, they were dark and stormy. His mouth was taut, and Sakura's look turned from annoyance to concern.

"Naruto...?" she asked uncertainly.

"You know what I want, old man," Naruto said abruptly. His usual hyper voice was nowhere to be found, and slowly Sakura was getting more and more worried.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked him urgently, her annoyance at him completely forgotten replaced with a sliver of fear.

"Do you two need some time alone?" Ayame asked. She served Sakura and Naruto's orders. "We're closing for the day anyway, you guys can stay here as long as you like."

"Thanks Ayame, I appreciate it," Naruto said shortly.

Sakura grew increasingly alarmed. She didn't really want this; she had a really bad feeling about it. She could feel panic flooding her system, until thoughts of her love were completely vanquished from her mind. However, curiosity kept her feet rooted to the ground and sitting in her chair.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Her voice didn't sound like hers at all. It was as if Ino had conquered her body again. "What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to you," Naruto replied. "And I need you to listen."

"Um... all right." Sakura swung towards him. "What's wrong?"

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto lost his voice for a second before blurting out, "I'm really, really mad at you right now."

The pink haired girl was stunned silent. _What _did he just say?

"What?" she finally asked.

"I am. I don't want to be, and don't even get me started on how I wish I wasn't, but I am. I can't even put into words how pissed I am." Naruto's voice shook, but for the most part, it was stony.

Sakura stared down at her hands, trembling in shock. Naruto was always there for her... was he pulling out of it now?

"You are so selfish, Sakura-chan. So incredibly selfish. When Sasuke-teme left, it was all about you. You didn't stop to think how I would feel or how Kakashi-sensei would feel; you just were content to wallow in your own misery. And you're still doing it. It's disgusting."

Sakura started to protest, but Naruto cut her off. "Don't argue with me. You know it's true. But you know what's even worse? I was willing to see through it. I fought and fought to get Sasuke back, just to see you smile again. And when I failed, never once did I hear you say thank you. Not once. Even now, when I'm trying my hardest, I haven't heard it."

She looked down at her hands, struggling to keep the flow of tears in check. He was right... he was so right. She began to shake, and she looked up with a pathetic look in her features. She felt painfully vulnerable, as if someone ripped out her heart and placed it on a silver platter.

"Naruto..." Her voice was broken.

He wouldn't stop. "And you know what? I'm going through a tougher time than you are." Sakura snapped her head straight up, this time her eyes gleaming with rage. She opened her mouth to speak, but once again, Naruto cut her short. "I just lost my best friend, and I'm having the girl that means most to me constantly acting like I'm a nuisance and a menace to society. Well guess what, Sakura-chan." He banged his fist on the table. "You're a filthy hypocrite, because you're doing to me what Sasuke did to you. I want to hate you, Sakura-chan."

"What?" Sakura gasped, tears flowing down her face from Naruto's harsh words and hard expression. "W-what do you mean?"

"I want to hate you. I want to hate you so freaking bad. But I can't. I just can't, and it's tearing me apart. And you want to know why I can't?" Naruto hissed his last sentence in a whisper.

"Why?" she humored him, even though she felt she didn't want to know. "I don't get it... if you're so mad at me..." she broke off, looking down at her lap again. She watched the tears hit her shorts.

"Because I really, really care about you." Naruto slipped a couple of fingers under her chin and lifted her face so her emerald orbs locked with his sapphire ones. "You don't know how much."

"Why do you?" Sakura shrieked finally, pushing his arm away. "I'm a horrible, horrible person, I know! You've made that crystal clear, Naruto! What more do you want from me? I get it, I'm selfish. I'm self-centered. _I get it_, all right? Why do you care about me then, huh?"

"Because I _love you_, dammit!" Naruto screamed, standing up so abruptly that his chair fell over. "You never saw it, but it's true! Sure, Sasuke never wanted it, but at least he wasn't blind enough to see it! I love you, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it!"

Silence fell over the two. Sakura could feel the blood drain from her face as if it was a waterfall, a waterfall about to run out of water at the top. Shakingly, Naruto sat down, jerking his head in an almost childish manner to the side. She barely even noticed. The pink haired girl was overwhelmed by emotion. The pain of loss was already pushing her floodgates, but this... the floodgates sprang open, releasing all of her violent and unstable emotions. She finally snapped.

"I can't believe this," she murmured furiously, brushing a lock of bubble gum hair out of her face. "Absolutely can't believe this." Now it was her turn to be enraged. Anger was setting her heart on fire, and she jumped up on her feet.

"Why the heck would you love me?" she screamed in his face. It felt so, so good to scream those words. "I hate myself, okay? I _hate _myself! I'm weak, and I'm in love with your worst rival! I can't believe that you actually-"

"I don't understand it myself!" Naruto retorted, turning this into a full-fledged shouting match. Sakura's breathing jerked as well as his.

"What?"

"I don't get it either!" Naruto was advancing towards her, and she was unconsciously moving backwards. She only became aware of it as her back hit a wall, and Naruto put his hands on either side of her head. She looked side to side for a way out, but she found none. "You only show feelings about yourself! You're only training to get Sasuke back, you're using Baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei and just about everyone else, and generally, you're a pain in the ass to deal with! And that's coming from me!"

_"I don't need to hear this," _Sakura thought furiously. She tried to duck through Naruto's arm, but he pushed her back.

"But... you try." With this, he deflated. Naruto dropped his arms on either side of the emerald eyed girl's head and they hung limply by his side. But Sakura was frozen in one spot. "You don't give up. You and me... we're the same. We both want something so badly we'll do anything to get it. I guess... that's why."

"Naruto... I'm sorry," Sakura whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Forget it," he mumbled, shifting a little. "Just... forget it."

Sakura watched helplessly as he ducked out of the curtain, and into the freezing hail. She didn't follow, only listened to the falling hail and the echoing footsteps.

She slid down the wall, shivering as the chills sank into her bones and through her flesh. The young kunoichi couldn't seem to keep warm, but it wasn't only from the cold of the hail. It was everything.

Why didn't she see it before?

Why didn't she see how much she was hurting him?

She curled up into a ball in her misery.

_"Why did I end up hurting him when the one I love did the same thing to me?" _

It seemed like her shivering would never cease. The cold was becoming frigid, and she peeked outside. The hail was only pouring harder and harder, but she couldn't even hear the pellets hitting the ground. The roaring in her head was similar to a crashing waterfall, and she felt like she was going insane.

Sakura buried her fingers in her pink hair and tugged down in frustration. What was she supposed to do?

----

Naruto was overwhelmed by confusion and strangely, guilt. His fists were clenched as he sat on the couch, his dark blue eyes unusually listless.

He didn't mean to go off on her like that. He meant every word he said, but it hurt her badly, he knew that. This was one huge vicious cycle. Sasuke hurt Sakura, Sakura hurt him…

And he ended up hurting the one he loved most.

He sighed as he buried his face in his sweaty palm, ignoring the uncomfortable wet feeling on his face. The pain was growing more and more and it felt like it would never die. He couldn't cry, for the flow of anguish was stopped by the crushing weight of guilt. Nothing seemed right to him. Sasuke would never make her happy, he _knew _he was right about that… but what was the point? She still loved him, and he couldn't stop her. If felt like his heart was locked deep inside and it would never ever be set free.

He started in surprise when knocking noises broke him out of his reverie.

"Naruto?" The weak voice gave him a soar of hope. He knew that voice, no matter how nasal sounding it was. It sounded like she had been crying for a long time. Naruto's heart sank at this, knowing it was completely his fault. He took the few agonizing strides and his hand mechanically slid open the door.

"It's your turn to listen," Sakura said in a deadly quiet voice. Naruto blinked, mesmerized by her beauty, although the beauty was harassed. Hailstones decorated her messy and ragged pink hair, and her emerald eyes were bloodshot from crying. The tear paths were still etched in her face.

"Can you come in first? I don't want you getting pelted by more hail than you have to," Naruto said quietly.

Sakura hesitated. "Oh all right, but only for a minute."

She stepped into his comfortable abode; well, comfortable compared to the vengeance the hail offered her. She sat down on the arm of Naruto's dark brown couch.

"I'm going to make this quick, and relatively painless," Sakura began, her eyes flashing in defiance. Naruto, never taking his eyes off her, walked to the couch and sat down right next to her. "I know you love me. You've made that clear. And I also know that I'm self-centered. But right now, this is all I can do."

"What do you mean?" Naruto whispered.

Sakura inched herself closer and closer until her warm breath lingered on his mouth. "I need you to wait. I'm sorry, but I still love Sasuke. I'll try everyday to get over him instead of training to get him back, but for now, I need you to wait."

Naruto was silent for a long, long time. Finally he closed the little distance between them and kissed her for one short second before standing up and turning away from her. He could feel her emerald eyes boring into his back before turning his head to the side to look at her.

"Most people should say no to that," he said at last. There was no need to say more than that, and Sakura apparently got that. Her eyes were glittering with an emotion Naruto couldn't read.

"But I can't," Naruto finished heavily. "So I'll wait. Eventually you'll break me. You'll probably even kill me. But, for some sick and twisted reason, I don't care."

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_Ya see that review button? Click it. If you want to flame me, fine. If you want to give me feedback, great. Anything is appreciated._


	2. Mix of Emotions

_All right guys, feel happy. I have decided to make this a full-blast story. One thing. WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT, YOU'LL GET AN UPDATE. No sooner. I'm really busy, with two other stories and outside life. I won't take over a month (at least I hope not) but other than that, my updates will be pretty random. So… enjoy._

_----_

"_For now, I need you to wait."_

"_You know, most people should say no to that."_

Sakura pulled her knees to her chin, trying to block out the flashbacks. It was easy enough to believe that had happened yesterday. That single moment kept flashing in her mind. When she was training by healing, she could be found spacing out instead of saving an injured rabbit. When she was working on strength, she absentmindedly punched out a tree… and took out an eighth of the forest along with it. It was no laughing matter, and she knew it. In fact, Tsunade took her out of training so she wouldn't be a threat to the village. She could still hear her now…

"_Sakura, what were you thinking?! Those woods are vital to the village! It'll take forever for it to grow back!"_

"_I know… I know."_

It was all she was capable of saying. She did know… she knew all of that. But that wasn't Sakura's problem. She knew the technical stuff, and she thought she knew the emotional stuff too. It was simple: she loved Sasuke, and Naruto loved teasing her about it. That was it. No confusion, no questions. It was just a problem that with hard work, it could be fixed. But yesterday proved to her how wrong she was.

"_I get it, all right? Then why would you care about me, huh?"_

"_Because I love you, dammit!"_

Sakura let out a whimper before grabbing her head. She knew what happened already, why did it have to keep coming back?

"_Because I love you…"_

"Stop it!" Sakura finally screamed, shooting up so abruptly she knocked the blankets off her bed.

The room went a deathly quiet. It seemed like the birds have stopped chirping, the people outside had stopped walking, and the usual thumps of training ninja had completely vanished. With her world stopped for seconds, she slumped back on her bed. Time sped up again.

"_For some sick and twisted reason, I don't care."_

She clutched her pale blue sheets to her chin, her eyes clamped shut before flashing back open. She took in the empty space in her room save for the bed: tatami mats and wooden walls made up her sanctuary. She hungrily drank in all the details. Because no matter how strange it was, it temporarily banished any remaining thought waves that threatened to destroy her.

Sakura stared out her window. The emerald eyed girl was surprised to see that life in the village was still going on. Lit by moonlight, kids were laughing and playing. Adults watched on in amusement at their antics, and young shinobi could be heard screaming and with colossal thumping noises that followed as they trained in the distance. Even if her world had stopped, the village kept running and living. It kept operating, despite its tragedies, only to fight another day.

A tiny smile played at the corners of her mouth as she stood up. She needed to get fresh air; it didn't matter how scared she was. She stripped off her black tank top and pajama shorts and pulled on her usual red oriented outfit. Gazing in the mirror, she adjusted her skirt, combed down her messy hair into a passable state, and twisted her shirt a little. Tying her forehead protector over her bright pink hair as the usual final touch, she jogged out of her house.

She was welcomed by gray cloudy skies, with a threat of rain. Her emerald eyes searched the skies for any sign of sunlight, but found none. It was yet another gloomy day. It matched her emotions that she felt deep inside, emotions she wanted no one to touch. She sighed, and mechanically began to walk her route.

Soft, tan dirt was kicked up with every step she made, only to settle down back into the road again. She sighed and took her walk very slowly; right now, she needed to rest and relax.

Without thinking much of it, she was heading towards the Hokage's office to work things out with her sensei. Tsunade would probably think her crazy, considering the mishap that morning, but Sakura wanted to straighten out her training schedule. That way, at least she had one solid thing to stand on. That way, at least her out-of-control life would have some structure.

The ANBU posted as guards at Tsunade's tower immediately moved aside; there was no threat for attack lately and Sakura coming was a routine that was rarely broken. She proceeded to the door and gave it three loud raps.

"Come in." Tsunade's voice was loud and brisk as always, and Sakura entered the room without hesitation. Her sensei was just finishing up yet another bottle of sake, and Sakura rolled her eyes and plastered a small, but untrue smile on her face. Tsunade instantly frowned.

"Sakura, I meant it when I said no-"

The younger girl raised her hand to silence her sensei. "Hai, I read you loud and clear," said Sakura in a soft voice. Tsunade raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I was just wondering when I could get back into training."

Tsunade was silent for quite a while. She was apparently thinking about her apprentice, and how she didn't really take "When you get better." for an answer. Finally she said at last, "This is about Naruto and Sasuke, isn't it?" Her flaming orange eyes searched the girl standing before her.

Sakura's eyes flickered in surprise, before she replied. She figured it would be easier to tell the truth. "Hai."

"Did something happen last night?" Tsunade pressured. Usually the fourteen year old girl took what happened with Sasuke in stride, only to train harder. To not focus on her training was too weird to be ignored.

"Hai." This time, Sakura's affirmative answer is guarded.

"Do you care to tell me what happened?"

"No."

Sakura's voice offered no room for argument. Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her chair. Shizune was out sick, her apprentice was acting very strangely, and that was her last bottle of sake. She repeated the sigh before straightening up.

"All right, I don't know what happened between you two and it appears I'm not going to find out," said Tsunade. "But you better have this all figured out in two weeks, or I will get the story what happened from either you or Naruto. Considering you get this straightened out in two weeks, that's when you can start training again. If not, and I have to force whatever happened out of you, then we're looking at a month. Does that answer your question, or do I have to spell it out for you?"

Sakura smiled a little bit at her mentor's snappiness before mellowing out again. "No, I got it. Thanks, that's more than fair."

"Whatever. Now get out of my sight."

Sakura winced; she knew it was her fault that Tsunade was in such a bad mood. She turned around and headed out the door. A tidal wave of melancholy crashed upon her. The pink haired kunoichi had so many thoughts just rushing through her head, and right now, she had no idea how to stop it.

She absentmindedly bit a fingernail. The rain she had expected earlier began to fall, drenching her hair and her skin. Tears slowly poured down her face, but the rain was her disguise. She could let it out and no one will ever know.

Sakura made an effort to hide the noises, to hide everything, but her world was falling apart. Hell, it had already fallen apart. Constantly it hurt… constantly she wanted to end it. Her eyes clenched shut to block the flow of tears, but she couldn't stop the inevitable. Finally Sakura opened her eyes and let them come. The relentless downpour mixed with her tears, and she began to walk.

Puddles splashed under her feet, and she gazed up at the sky. Every sound was blessing her ears. She kept walking; she knew the layout of the village by heart. Her stomach began to rumble and she realized that she hadn't eaten since her encounter with Naruto just the afternoon before. She groaned, forgetting her emotional misery. Ichiraku's was the closest food. She would go there, eat quickly, and get out.

She fumbled with her purse for a second, before freezing at familiar voices. Sakura's face immediately went white before she instinctively moved. The kunoichi swiftly leapt behind the building next to the ramen stand and waited for them to leave.

"Jeez, Naruto," Konohamaru's voice rang through the pattering rain. "You are so weird. You're eating only one bowl this time!"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto's lofty voice nearly made Sakura grin, and it would have if the circumstances were different. "Now shut up, I'm eating."

"You know, you barely talked at all today, and now you're barely eating. Is something wrong?" Konohamaru asked finally after a few moments of silence on both sides. "Usually you can't stop interrupting me!"

Naruto didn't reply right away, and Sakura slid down the wall. Her feet were not obeying her commands to run. Run fast, run far away, run so she didn't have to hear his answer. But she didn't move. She couldn't move. Oceans of panic were breaking loose within her, and she just couldn't get away.

"I'm fine, no worries!" Naruto finally spoke up, but it was obvious he had forced cheerfulness into his voice.

"You're a liar, Naruto."

"What did you just say?!" Sakura could just imagine the blonde's eyebrow twitching. "All right, you asked for it…"

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle as there were rustling movements in the bar. She leaned her cheek against the wall.

"Ow! What's the big idea?"

Once again, Naruto didn't answer for a while. Finally he asked at last, "Have you ever felt so lost without someone you really care about, and you feel like you might die from the pain?"

Obviously Konohamaru was stunned by this. "Well. That was random."

"Just answer it, twerp." Naruto's voice, despite the insult, was dull and defeated. Sakura felt like crying all over again. She huddled her knees to her chest and embraced them, the mahogany brick wall becoming painful against her back.

The younger ninja replied without much hesitation. "Yeah, when my grandfather died." His voice was solemn. "I thought I would never be happy again. But…"

"But?" Naruto prompted.

"Fighting for what he lived for… that's what always makes me feel better. I loved my grandfather, and he _was _Konoha, in a way. So I fight for Konoha all I can, live up to my name, and suddenly, it doesn't hurt so badly anymore. Because I know he's watching and I know he's proud of me."

Sakura smiled. Konohamaru knew a lot for someone his age.

"Wow. That's pretty deep, twerp."

"Oh shut up. Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Oh, I was just wondering…"

Sakura flattened herself even more against the wall when she heard movement. Naruto and his companion both stood up, and lifted the curtain into the freezing rain. Konohamaru went in the direction opposite of where she was hiding, while Naruto was heading towards her. She prepared to run for it until Sakura heard Naruto call after the Genin.

"Konohamaru?" Naruto's voice was clear this time, and sounded like he had no worries. Sakura peeked out of her hiding place to see his blonde hair matted to his head. She stared at him for a long time until Konohamaru replied.

"Hai?"

"Arigatou. That really helped me out. I think I know what to do now-" he cut himself off, refusing to reveal too much.

"Do what?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Run along, now." Naruto waved at the younger kid.

"I'm not a child, baka! I'm going to be the Sixth Hokage!"

"No you're not! Well, bye!" Naruto turned around and began to walk, his hands behind his head, as usual. Sakura couldn't take it any longer. Her breathing, chopped up raggedly as if it was done by a kunai, would surely give her away. Goosebumps had settled all over her skin, and fear that she was always determined to keep locked away was slowly making her heart beat so much faster.

She abruptly stood up. She had to get their first encounter since the previous day over with.

"Sakura?" Naruto's voice was surprised.

Sakura had stepped out slowly, with her back facing towards him. She would probably loop around the village, since the young kunoichi felt no need to pass by him. She had already caused him and herself so much pain…

"Sakura." This time, it wasn't a question.

The fifteen year old girl refused to look at him. She had broken apart once. It couldn't happen to her again. Sakura felt choked up; she could barely breathe as she clenched her fits. Slowly, she began to walk away. Fear and hurt rendered her body like a livewire. She could barely feel her body, her arms and legs numb. All she could feel was her aching heart. It was an ache she would have killed to get rid of.

"Sakura, look at me. Please." Naruto's voice broke.

The young girl slowly looked around, and saw his face. His blue eyes betrayed the hurt he was feeling. The lively seas that resided there were still, and they even seemed to be darker in a sense of defeat. But he smiled.

And Sakura felt a sudden urge to slap him.

Why was he smiling?! It was so fake, it was so plastered, and what was the point of being happy in a time like this?! But Sakura's emotions were so out of control that she reacted in a way opposite of fury: she started crying.

Her face crumpled, and let out a loud sob before turning tail and running. Sakura heard Naruto call after her, but she didn't listen to his desperate calls. She ran from her past, her present, her future, and away from him. She was a coward.

"_I'm sorry, Naruto," _she thought, still sobbing. _"I'm sorry… please forgive me."_

----

_Yes I know, very slow, but I swear I have a plot idea in mind and everything. Things will start to pick up next chapter. I apologize if this chapter wasn't very good…but I'm trying here._

_But don't hesitate to tell me what you think!_


	3. Desperate

_Wow. You guys sure know how to make my day! Thanks for all your reviews; you have no clue how much it means to me. But if you don't feel like reviewing, you don't have to. Just know it makes me happy if you do. Hehe. Another angst filled chapter coming right up!_

Naruto watched as Konohamaru left, sighing. His usually sharp blue eyes were still in thought as Konohamaru disappeared from view. Of course his thoughts focused in on emerald eyed girl instead of his younger friend, and they were somber with these thoughts. Last night had certainly changed him, to say the least. He felt like it was a sin to laugh, or even to smile. It felt filthy, unclean. Whenever he did smile, it felt forced. Why did she have such an effect on him? She was horrible, sly; a girl with no cares except for herself and Sasuke. He felt like he would explode if he stood still and thought about this at the same time. Slowly he straightened to turn around and walk back home.

The noise made right when he turned around himself and started walking nearly escaped his notice. Had it been a little quieter, or more subtle, the blonde would have missed it altogether. It sounded like a shuffling and a sliding sound as if someone was standing up. His eyes narrowed in tense readiness, his ninja skills not waning in the least despite his tormented feelings, before widening in shock. He saw a few strands of pink hair before they disappeared behind the wall again.

"Sakura?" Naruto was hardly aware of how dumbfounded his voice sounded. His mind was blank; he couldn't think properly. The only thing he could feel was a slow strangling feeling on his throat and chest. A dark hand of grieving love seized him, and the grip wouldn't slacken. If the kunoichi had strangled him with her bare hands, it would have felt better than this. His chest tightened at the thought that he was within the same radius as her.

Sakura stepped out from behind the wall. Her back was facing towards him, and she obviously didn't want him to see her. Naruto felt like a knife was stabbing through his heart and twisting. He was a fool to think one day could have changed anything. She still wanted nothing to do with him. She still couldn't see him as a thinking, feeling person. The blue eyed ninja felt like he could die from the pain.

"Sakura." The word slipped out like sliding on ice, but he couldn't even form a sentence. It felt like his voice was frozen in his throat. She still refused to look at him; her shoulders were shaking in what seemed to be fear… and sadness. And Naruto couldn't bear it.

"Sakura, look at me. Please." Naruto's voice was cracking, but it seemed to do the trick. Slowly, the pink haired girl turned around, her feet shuffling and dragging on the ground as she did so, and Naruto gasped in shock at the sight.

Sakura obviously stopped taking very good care of herself since the previous day. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying, suggesting she did a fair amount the whole day. The kunoichi unconsciously brushed her tussled bright hair behind her ear, and her emerald eyes flashed dully. The dark circles that had formed under her eyes made her look less human than ever. Naruto could only stand and stare in sheer horror at first, drinking in the effect everything had on her.

"_What have I done to her?"_

Naruto had no idea that all this could have shaken up Sakura this badly. She was trembling now, and Naruto wanted to just hug her. He just wanted to comfort the kunoichi in every way he knew how. In every way he practiced over so many years. Tell her it was okay, that she could go after Sasuke if she really wanted to. That she and him could work together, bring him back, and have them live happily ever after and all that nonsense.

But the sick part was that, for the first time, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He just couldn't do it this time around.

It felt like that showdown between him and Sasuke years ago all over again, except this time, it was him that was trapped and him that couldn't break free. It was him that was locked in this twisted place. And the one person that could free him was too broken herself to unlock and open the cage.

But, he had to do something, right? So he forced a smile. A smile that reflected pain and happiness at the same time. A smile that was so fake and so idiotic that it hurt to act on it. A smile that couldn't possibly work.

And it felt like something shattered.

Sakura's face almost immediately crumpled. He heard her emotions letting loose out of her mouth in a loud sob, and she turned on a dime and started running. Her pink haired flowed behind her, and the sound of feet hitting the dirt path made all the blood drain from Naruto's face.

"Sakura!" Naruto called after her. He was running after her now, trying to stop her. "Sakura!"

But she wouldn't stop. Her speed grew at an exponential rate before she grabbed a wall and flung herself around the corner. She was gone once more.

It didn't take long for Naruto's own mouth to twist and for tears to form in his eyes. He sank down to the floor where he was standing during that whole confrontation. Then he did something that he hadn't done since he was about ten years old:

He cried.

But he couldn't do it in public. Naruto's sobs were quiet at first, and he managed to stand up and try to make his way back to the house. He muffled his tears in his sleeve as he walked the rocky path. Luckily it was too dark to have anyone see him. He kept walking at a brisk pace until he showed up at his little apartment. Throwing open the door, staggering through it, and quickly closing the door behind him, he let out the torrent of frustration and hurt he just couldn't let go.

Naruto banged his fist on the wall before collapsing a little on it, but this time, he didn't try to hold back the tears that were coming. He just let it all out; something he should have done years ago.

Sasuke and Sakura were taking over his mind; they wouldn't let go and he couldn't let go of them in turn. It felt like a ring of fire: he couldn't escape from the burning pain. But crying… it seemed to weaken these flames.

He buried his face into his hands before turning around to slump against the wall, his back leaning heavily against it. The front of his jacket and his hands were soaking wet now, and for once, he finally felt spent. He slowly staggered to his feet before taking off the jacket and throwing it across the room. It hit the wall and sagged to the ground, but no matter what he did, the blonde couldn't extinguish what he felt inside.

He finally stood up, feeling absolutely defeated. There was never a fight he thought he had no chance of winning. He always thought there was always a hope, always a chance. Even against Sasuke, Naruto had never felt so hopeless.

The blonde was so wrapped up in his feelings that he almost didn't hear the knock on his door. Rolling his eyes, he stood up to fling open the door. Wasn't it obvious enough he wanted no company? His lights were off, and the door was locked. Didn't the little squirt ever hear of privacy?

"Konohamaru, leave me-" he immediately cut himself off and flushed a scarlet red when he found himself face to face with wide emerald eyes, opalescent skin, and candy pink hair.

Sakura's fist was still raised to knock once more on his door; as if she was half-hoping he really wouldn't be there. She cleaned herself up quite a bit. She shook her damp hair to clear some stray strands out of her face; she must have just taken a shower. Her eyes were still slightly red, but her green eyes showed more life. Naruto watched as her mouth went taut with determination.

"Are you going to make me stay out here, or do you feel like letting me in?" asked Sakura, and for the first time in a while, a slight smile showed her vague amusement. Naruto had no idea what thoughts she had could make her change in attitude and appearance so quickly, but he shook his head to clear his mind. It didn't matter, right? All that mattered was that he didn't make a complete fool out of himself while he was at it. He smiled back, hoping this time, it was somewhat realistic.

"Um, sure." Naruto hastily let her in. Sakura walked in hesitantly, and looked around; as if this was the first time she ever visited his house. Due to Sakura's change of attitude and appearance, his confusion overcame any pain he once felt. It was a bit of a relief, but there was one thing he wanted to know.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?"

Sakura ignored him for a few seconds. However, that was fine with Naruto. He was content to just watch her. When she was like this… carefree, actually did some work to improve her looks, and bold as ever, it made everything he felt worth it.

Finally, she turned to face him. Her eyes flashed with a feeling he couldn't identify, before turning back into that girl full of spunk.

"I came to say I'm sorry," Sakura said at last.

Naruto stared at her in surprise. Sakura stood right in front of him, so it was a face to face encounter. "What? Why?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for running away, and I'm sorry for fooling myself." Sakura's tone was fierce. "For thinking that I could get exactly what I wanted. If you want…" She trailed off, only to start up again. "If you want you could stop waiting. I don't want to hurt you anymore. I don't…"

Naruto cut her off. He took a few steps forward and engulfed her in a fierce hug, and he buried his head in her shoulder. The blonde could feel her flinch in surprise, before she whispered, "Naruto… what…?"

"What did I say to you?" asked Naruto quietly, his voice slightly muffled. "What did I say to you before you left yesterday?"

He felt Sakura stiffen in his grasp.

"It's my decision at this point, not yours, Sakura-chan." His back-to-normal use of the honorific after her name made the girl relax. "I'm going to wait. It's just how I am. I'm going to wait, unless you don't want me to."

There was a pause, before Sakura whispered, "Baka." Her voice shook, before a small choking noise told Naruto she was crying again. She took hold of either side of his jacket, burying her face in his chest. Naruto tightened his grip on her, now resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Yeah, I know," Naruto whispered, rocking her back and forth. "I know."

Naruto let her cry for a long, long time, not even moving to make himself more comfortable. She had a lot to let loose, he could tell. Her frail shoulders shook so much that he found it amazing the pink haired girl could hold so much bottled inside. He slowly kept up the steady motion of rocking Sakura back and forth, trying to comfort her in the best way Naruto knew how.

"Why?" Sakura asked at last, her voice slightly nasal and raspy. "Why would you do something like that?"

"Because we're the same."

Naruto felt her start with surprise before she lapsed back into tears again. She demanded no explanation, no words of encouragement. She had changed so much from a single night, because her selfishness had already waned significantly.

"Naruto…?" The young ninja heard Sakura sniffle at last, and she pushed herself away from him only slightly. Pinkish azure orbs locked with bloodshot emerald ones as Sakura looked up at him.

"Yeah?" Naruto found he absolutely could not look away.

"Arigatou…"

Naruto nodded, and gave her a final squeeze before letting go. "Do you want to stay the night? I'll sleep on the couch…"

Sakura grinned up at him. "All right, but I'll be the one sleeping on the couch."

"Whatever you say, Sakura-chan."

----

Naruto shot up from his bed, a strange feeling of discomfort overcoming of him. Something hurt, and it was physical. It felt like his lungs were on fire, and his heart was frozen. But it wasn't because of Sakura. No, something was wrong. He collapsed out of his bed, his hand clasped over his chest. Naruto's breathing was labored, and he was panting for every last inhale and exhale.

He couldn't wake up Sakura, though. Despite her being a medical ninja, they just got on reasonable terms. He couldn't worry her… he just couldn't. Indecision tore through him, but it was immediately drowned out by another shot of pain. He nearly screamed from it. This wasn't heartburn. This was far, far worse.

But as soon as it came, the pain vanished. Naruto went limp on the floor, gasping for air. His body still ached from the sudden spasm of pain, but it was far more bearable. His throat was now constricting, and he covered his mouth as coughing overcame him. He fell over into the bed. As soon as the coughing stopped, he drew away his hand.

Something wasn't right. He staggered to his feet, and flicked on the lights to his bathroom. He collapsed on the sink before he finally looked at his hand.

It was covered in warm, sticky blood.

_I'm sorry if this chapter absolutely sucked, but I had the worst writer's block. But I wanted to get you a chapter before the month was up. I'm so sorry, just bear with me. Feel free to point out how I can improve though, I greatly appreciate it._


	4. Broken

Hatred steamed through Sakura as she was rudely awakened by thumping upstairs. She was too tired to realize she was in Naruto's home, and she was too tired to notice that maybe someone was breaking in. However, she really wanted to punch a wall out. Even better, the person who was causing all the trouble.

Instead, she let out an inward groan and slowly opened one eye halfway to see someone practically run down the stairs and scribble down a note. She recognized the flash of blonde hair almost instantly, and she shut her eyes and pretended to sleep soundly, despite her rapidly beating heart. She hoped it wouldn't show too much. She felt her hair stretch over the couch arm uncomfortably, but she couldn't afford to fix it. Not when he stood there.

She heard the walking halt, and Sakura's breath caught. She knew he was standing over her. She tried to sleep a little more naturally, but her rapidly beating heart may as well had been a traitor.

She forced her breathing to even out, and she applauded on herself until she felt something rest on her head. She tried very hard to remain still as Naruto's hand stretched over her head. Finally there were footsteps again, and a slamming of a door as the figure, hopefully, left.

Sakura cracked open an eyelid to make sure the coast was clear, and when she was sure of the matter she sat up. She rubbed her eyes and tried to tame the tangled mess on her head with her fingers. She felt a lot better: the ache in her heart was slowly dulling. She was a ninja. She had to be adaptable to these sort of things.

But Tsunade still had her on break. There was that obstacle she had to acknowledge think about.

The pink haired girl let out a loud groan as she realized the truth. She would be left to her melancholy once more, with no distractions. She dug in her pocket for ponytail holders, and threw up her messy hair in a ponytail. She seriously doubted Naruto would possess a hairbrush, so that would have to wait.

Her eyes darted around the room, taking in detail, until they finally rested on a mahogany table. The note that Naruto had hastily scribbled lay there, unfolded. Sakura immediately felt somber. She slowly got up, and picked up the note.

_Sakura-chan,_

_I went to Tsunade for a little bit. Nothing important, but I just thought you should know. Don't go after me, but if I come back before you wake up, no big deal, right? Okay, bye._

_Naruto_

Sakura must have read the note over twice, maybe three times. No references to the night before, and none to their argument. Hell, it was the same light, cheerful Naruto. But she knew she was just fooling herself if she thought it was a dream.

"_I wonder what he's thinking," _she thought, placing the note back on the table. _"It's so difficult. If I could read him it wouldn't be half as bad."_

She was so caught up in her thoughts that when the echoing noise of knocking filled the room, she jumped a mile.

"_Stupid, stupid, stupid," _she said to herself repeatedly, her green eyes glinting with self-hatred. It was stupid. It was stupid that she couldn't concentrate anymore. It was stupid that she couldn't even think about anything unless it was about Sasuke, or now Naruto. Her heart was threatening to break her again.

There was another knock on the door.

"I'm coming!" Sakura roared with an anger that was not so much pointed towards whoever was knocking, and she twisted the doorknob with a vengeance. She whipped it open.

"Naruto said I would find you here," Ino said briskly, forcing herself inside. It was obvious that Ino was going to ignore Sakura's tantrum outburst. "Tsunade wants you. As soon as possible."

"What? Why?" Sakura forced her inner turmoil to one side. It was eating at her alive, but it would have to wait. "She forced me on break…"

"Hinata's group came back today." Ino's voice was grim, but Sakura could see that her eyes were flashing with worry and panic. "Hinata and Chouji are injured. Badly."

----

"Tsunade, when was the team sent out?" Sakura was currently drilling her sensei for information as she snapped her gloves in place.

"Two months ago. It was an A rank mission, but they were due back three weeks ago. Something went wrong, obviously."

"Who exactly was in the group?" Sakura was more than grateful for a distraction from all of her worries, but panic was slowly building up. What on earth happened to them?

"Hinata was captain. Kiba, Chouji, Tenten, Lee, and Shino were on that team." However, Tsunade's voice was cracked, and Sakura looked into her sensei's eyes as they walked down the hallways of the hospital.

"Tsunade…" Sakura stretched out her voice.

Her sensei sighed. "Tenten, Lee, and Kiba are going to be okay. The three of them have concussions, bruises, and their fair share of gashes, and Tenten has a broken arm, but other than that they're fine. Akamaru is okay too." She put her head to her palm.

"The other three?"

"Hinata and Chouji are badly hurt. Chouji is in a coma right now. He has multiple broken ribs, and a few of them pierced his lung." Sakura gasped at this information, clutching her clipboard to her chest. "So naturally that lung collapsed. He also had multiple deep gashes on his face, I don't think he'll ever look the same. Shino…" she trailed off.

"Shino?" prompted Sakura, a sick dread filling the pit of her stomach.

"He's gone missing. No one knows what happened to him. Tenten, Lee, and Kiba of course don't remember anything. Hinata and Chouji were the ones that were attacked first as well, so they won't be of any help."

"Hinata's injuries?" Sakura asked, eager to change the subject of Shino. She felt sicker and sicker with every passing second. With the exception of Lee, she knew none of them very well, but the news of such ill had increased her urge to throw up. Not even Naruto and Sasuke combined could distract her from this.

"I'm assigning you to treat her. She will be the trickiest to heal, excluding Chouji, and I don't trust anyone else. I'll have my hands full with Chouji and the others. So Sakura, whatever you're thinking about right now, it needs to be forgotten for now. For her sake, if no one else." Tsunade's eyes were bright with tears, and that turned Sakura's resolve to iron.

"Hai," replied Sakura grimly as they pushed through into the lobby. They entered Tsunade's office and sat down in silence. Sakura let the news digest for a while until she finally asked, "What's wrong with Hinata?"

Tsunade sighed. "She's in trouble, Sakura. Her skull has a few fractures; it's amazing she isn't in a coma like Chouji. Her right shin is totally shattered, and her kneecap was forced off track on that leg. She'll need intensive therapy to make it stronger as well as expert healing." Sakura's insides were boiling at this information, but she forced her face to be completely neutral. She needed to listen.

"She's unconscious right now because her blood pressure shot up. We managed to stabilize her, but a small vessel burst in her brain." This time Sakura couldn't stifle her cry in dismay. "The damaged vessel in question, of course, was repaired, but there is a large chance of damage. The next twenty four hours will be critical. She also has slight damage to her stomach, it was probably just a punch, and is now coughing up blood, but we couldn't do much with that because the vessel required our immediate attention." Tsunade stood up. "Dismissed. Sakura…" she hesitated. "Save her." She pushed Sakura aside to leave the office.

Sakura didn't even hesitate. The pink haired girl knew exactly where Tsunade stored her supplies in the tidy small office, and she threw open the cabinet doors with a _bang. _She tossed on a hospital apron and snapped surgical gloves into place. She didn't even hesitate as the nurses instructed her to Hinata's room. However, one look at the girl killed all her resolve and left her staring.

Sickly pale skin screamed at her and Hinata's dark, contrasting hair was stained with blood, while her closed eyes were a purple shaded scarlet. Whether it was from violence or lack of sleep, Sakura couldn't tell. She stood there, staring, taking in Hinata's mauled leg wrapped hurriedly in a messy bandage and the bandages around her head, already soaked deep with crimson. Her shirt was badly ripped, and a fair amount of her ghostly pale skin was caked with drying blood.

"Sakura?" A nurse urged, and the word was like a gong going off in the back of Sakura's skull. It was enough for her to leap into action.

"You, clean her up. Get a washcloth as gentle as you can get it. You, watch her monitors. I want to know the second anything happens. Does anyone know what medications she may be on?"

"We had to knock her out, Haruno-san," a golden haired nurse immediately replied. Her curls bounced as she shook her head frantically. "Other than that, we didn't touch her. Tsunade managed to stop the bleeding in her brain, but she said we have to wait it out and see if there's any lasting damage…"

"And she's absolutely right. Thank you. Did she do a scan of her stomach?"

"Hai. All scans are normal now, and she's stopped coughing up blood. The trauma to it obviously took place a while ago, and she aggravated it when she was running back here."

"Was she conscious when you found her? And did she regain consciousness before or after her blood pressure shot up?" Sakura was taking mental notes, trying to decide what to do.

"Yes, she was. She passed out shortly before she entered the gate. She managed to drag herself, while Chouji had to be carried. And she regained consciousness for seconds before she fell unconscious again, and that's when her blood pressure shot up. We don't think she's in a coma."

"All right, that's what I needed to know."

Sakura was in the room for the rest of the day, trying her best to save Hinata's life. Halfway through her procedures, she heard a loud, male scream and pounding on the walls. Instead of annoying her to death as it usually did, it buoyed her. She worked harder and harder, and finally, wiping the sweat off her brow, she finished up. Not once did she think about Naruto or about what had happened. All she had to do was concentrate on her work, and everything would be all right again.

"_So, so wrong,"_the forbidden thought crossed across her mind wickedly, but Sakura quickly pushed it out of the way.

"Her signs are stable," Sakura finally announced to her team. "We need to operate on her leg. Get the operating room ready, I'll meet you there."

Tsunade peeked into the room. "Sakura, a guest is going crazy with worry. I need you to give him a report. Do you have time?"

"Barely," muttered Sakura under her breath. Smiling a wide, fake smile, she turned to her team. "Get the room ready, but for the love of Kami don't move her until I come here! She's stabilized, but only for now."

"Hai!"

Satisfied, Sakura walked out of the room. However, she was taken aback when Tsunade led her in the opposite direction of the lobby. "Tsunade, I thought you said-"

"I lied." Tsunade's voice was eerily calm. "Kiba is awake, and he's going out of his mind. And your nurses may have gotten a little distracted by a patient in distress."

Sakura nodded slowly. "What should I tell him?"

"The truth. Lies are just going to rattle him even more. The more straightforward you are, the more he'll calm down and let the nurses help him. You understand the situation, I'm sure."

Sakura did understand it, all too well. "Hai, Tsunade. You can count on me."

"I know I can," Tsunade replied softly, and Sakura was slightly shocked about her mentor's unsharpened words. "Just help him. Help both of them. And for Kami's sake, don't tell Naruto about this."

A hand might as well have seized Sakura's heart, because she felt it constrict painfully and her stomach dropped. Just the mention of his name was enough for the ache to resurface again from her cool façade and calm reserves. She managed to recover enough to ask, "Why not?"

"He's…" Tsunade trailed off, and it was obvious she wasn't going to speak unless Sakura took the initiative.

"He's what?" Sakura's pain was violently pushed back by her irritation. "Did he visit you this morning? I found a note…"

"Sakura, last week you wouldn't talk to me about what happened between you two, and now, it's my turn to tell you I can't talk to you about this. Yes, Naruto did talk to me this morning, and no, he didn't say anything about what happened." Tsunade was much more agitated than usual, and Sakura was rapidly getting alarmed.

"Tsunade…?" Sakura asked quietly. "You're not being yourself."

"Sakura, he made me promise not to tell you or anyone else," Tsunade said with so much exhaustion in her voice that it sharply reminded Sakura of Naruto that day in the freezing hail. "But just believe me when I say that letting him know about Hinata's condition is the last thing he needs right now."

The pink haired girl knew her mentor by now. When Tsunade was in this mood, she meant it. She cared too much about Naruto to leave him hiding in the dark for too long, but she also knew what was best for him. Sakura nodded briskly before thrusting herself in front of Tsunade to open the door. She looked over her shoulder.

"I've got this." The kunoichi couldn't even recognize her own voice anymore. It had become bitter and brittle with every passing second. Her heart was trapped in reality's cage, and there was no breaking free now. She never would taste the freedom she had when she was twelve again, and the harsh truth was beginning to fall upon her.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Tsunade said quietly before closing the door behind her. Sakura blinked at the door, before shaking her head violently to clear it. She tugged at her pink strands childishly for a fleeting moment. She walked forward, her eyes piercing into the brown haired boy in front of her.

He was hysterical. He was fighting off the nurse at every angle, and the massive white dog lying in a small bed on the floor was howling in distress, evidently from his master's unreachable fury.

"I need to see her!" Kiba was yelling frantically, shoving at all angles to get the nurses out of the way.

"Enough!"

Sakura's authority in her voice along with anger made the entire room quiet for a minute. She took advantage of the silence while it lasted. "Kiba, I'm treating Hinata right now, no one can see her..."

"It was my fault!" Kiba screamed at her, and Akamaru continued to howl with melancholy. "Mine! I have to see her!"

"Kiba, would you shut up?!" Sakura finally had had enough of his screeching. "Hinata had a brain vessel burst, but she'll suffer no lasting damage from that. She's going into surgery to repair her leg. As you know, it's bad. And she has several broken ribs and a few fractures in the skull. She is in no condition to be seen right now, and you are not helping her by throwing a fit like a twelve year old!"

Kiba stared at her, openmouthed. Fuming, Sakura glared back at him, clutching her clipboard to her side. Finally, Kiba rested onto his pillows, and let the nurse administer the shot that she had been trying to get into him. The shot, obviously a sedative, only took a few minutes before taking its toll. Kiba's eyes fluttered, and even though he fought it for a while, he was soundly sleeping.

"Thank you," the nurse mouthed to her silently. Sakura gave her a brisk nod before leaving the room. She had a surgery to get to.

Everything else would just have to wait.

----

_There we go.  
_

_Sorry it took me forever to update, I wanted to finish my other fic and put all my energy into that one. Now that I've finished it, this one gets some attention. ;D_

_You know the drill. Advice, criticism, praise, all is welcome. (The first two are preferred, but praise is nice too. ;D)_


	5. A Step Too Far

Such oblivion he had faced before, but never like this.

Naruto was fidgeting and twitching as he left Tsunade's office. He was scared, no, more than scared. His body seemed to completely lose control. He didn't know where he was walking, or what his thoughts were. It was all numb. It was surprising he could even move. The pressure was slowly mounting, but it was no use to try and fight it.

His fear was roaring through his systems, numbing every vein it touched and his stomach was slowly, slowly twisting. He felt like he was going to be sick. Tsunade had given him something to stop him from coughing up more blood, but the sinking feeling in his stomach just would not go away. It felt hopeless, and for the first time ever in his life, Uzumaki Naruto felt defeated.

His feet were set firmly on the path to his own house, but his mind and soul were somewhere else. Fear was crawling up his spine. He could hear laughter, mocking and hateful, but he blocked it out, like always. What was the point?

Just ahead, he felt jolted as a blonde left his house. Not blonde like him, but a light, platinum blonde who he knew all too well. He felt a swell of anger over his misery. What was she doing in there? She had no business. He angrily took a step forward.

However, a flash of pink caught his eyes, and he immediately froze. His feet rooted into the dirt roads, and much to his relief the two girls did not see him. Sakura's eyes were a little glazed, obviously she had just woke up, but there was also a light in those eyes that he had not seen in a long, long time. Worry and fear were turning the pale green into a darker emerald, and she was bolting off in the opposite direction before Naruto could think much more of it.

Finally, his feet obeyed his mental command for them to move. He dragged himself into the house, and when he saw the table he noticed that his note was crumpled, but there was now a new one. He smiled grimly at the irony, before picking up the clean piece of paper.

"_Left for the hospital. Don't worry, everything's fine." _Sakura's neat handwriting made his look like chicken scratch. _"I'm sorry about last night. See you around."_

He clutched the note as finally, his thoughts became clear. He had no other choice. Because above all, he had to keep Sakura safe.

He jogged up the stairs, peeking into his room. His sharp intake of breath surprised him. He had not seen it since this morning, and obviously his problems had no disappeared. The pillowcase had a few crimson droplets, and he had no idea how to wash the stains out. He threw it away, and then put on a new one. The less investigation, the better.

Slowly, he began to throw his clothes into a small bag, having no idea how much he would need or anything. He threw in his forehead protector, and any other valuables. His sigh seemed to pierce the silence that had settled over the room.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he murmured into the silence that was brought back to life. "I'm so sorry."

----

"Sakura! She's going into cardiac arrest!"

Sakura was immediately at attention, with electricity ready and she quickly looked at Hinata's monitor. It was beeping at an infrequent and dangerous rate, and Sakura immediately felt a twinge of panic as Hinata's vital signs grew more and more alarming with each passing second. Eventually, the beeping turned into one steady sound. The sound Sakura never wanted to hear.

"Clear!" Sakura shouted before the shock jolted Hinata's thin frame.

No change.

"Clear!" Sakura announced again, but this time, she saw something happening.

"One more time! CLEAR!"

Her added ferocity did the trick, Hinata's chest jerked before it lapsed into unsteady breathing.

"Get her vital signs steady!" Sakura's voice was growing more and more hysterical as every painful moment passed. She flicked her hair out of her face anxiously and slid it back. Immediately she discarded her elastic gloves to get new ones.

"Hai!" The nurses scurried. Sakura took a few deep breaths, trying to stop her own frantically beating heart. Everything was going wrong, everything was freezing up… and no one could come to her rescue. Not this time.

"She's steady enough, but we have to finish the surgery," the head nurse announced, and at any other time Sakura would have found her confidence annoying. However, her bright blue eyes were flashing as concern as they searched Sakura's own eyes of vivid green as the latter processed what to do.

"You're right," Sakura said at last. "Let's get to it."

Slowly the chakra with blue hue consumed her hand, and it started its magic on Hinata's leg. The bones had been reset, now all that was left was to heal the skin… a new skin that would leave her seemingly unbroken.

----

Naruto was at a frenzied pace now, sprinting across the village. In his mind, he was running out of time. The villagers weren't surprised by his flight, but then again, they couldn't see the true terror in his eyes.

His backpack looked no different, except if one looked closely they could see it was a bit bigger than usual. He gave no person a chance to look closer. He couldn't even risk it at this point in time.

The gates were open as usual, but the guards standing there sent shivers of panic up his spine. What if he got caught? What if Sakura found out? What if…?

Naruto shook his head fiercely. He couldn't think of that. Not now.

He tried to plaster a goofy grin on his face: it was easier than just going into a monotone like Sakura or Sasuke had done in the past. That, and the guards expected that from him by now. He was the number one hyperactive ninja and that was all there was to it. He grinned at the guards and waved enthusiastically, getting a few eye rolls in return. He inwardly sighed in relief.

"Where are you going?" a guard asked.

He swallowed hard. "Just for a walk. No big deal, right?" He flashed a thumbs up to the guards, an obvious rip off from Rock Lee. They rolled their eyes again, and Naruto felt another wave of gratefulness.

"Whatever you say, Naruto." The gates opened, and Naruto walked as casually as he could out of the opening the guards allowed. His legs were stiff and ready to spring, but he forced himself to just go at a leisurely pace until finally, the trees hid him.

It was like an explosion went off from behind him. He ran like he had never before, dashing from tree branch to tree branch. He barely thought about where he was going to go, just that he had to run far and fast from the village. It was for their own protection.

Especially Sakura.

Tears were now flowing fast, but they were immediately wiped out by the wind that he created from his desperate plight. But he could feel it make him stronger, at least look stronger, and he wanted more of it. He increased his pace.

But he couldn't run away from the inevitable. He was never able to.

----

"She's going to be okay."

Sakura's tone was a clear monotone, but deep inside, relief was a deep bonfire that took root in her soul. Tsunade sighed in relief, as did Kurenai, Rock Lee, and a few other Chuunin and Jonin that had joined them. They were in the lobby as Sakura continued. "She will suffer no more damage from that vessel in her brain. However, she'll need intense physical therapy for her leg. The bone has been put together, but it's still very, very weak. It will most likely hurt a lot for the next few weeks, and after that, we can start the therapy. Her ribs need time to repair as well."

"I'll tell Kiba." Tsunade stood up to leave the room.

"Is there anything else that she'll go through?" demanded Neji, his cold eyes scanning Sakura's face. She hoped against hopes nothing would show through.

"Except for her leg, there's nothing wrong with her that time won't fix," replied Sakura coolly.

Neji gave her a nod before standing up to leave. The others slowly began to follow suit and filing out of the hospital. Once everyone was gone, with the exception of Kurenai, she leaned against the wall and dropped her iron façade. She leaned her forehead into her fingers, trying to calm down.

"It's hard, isn't it?"

Kurenai's unexpected voice caused Sakura to jump, but she gave the older ninja a quick nod. "It's nothing I can't handle, though," replied Sakura hastily. "In this case, it's going to be okay in the end."

Kurenai gave a nod back. "That's right. You have a good outlook. Just… take good care of Hinata for me, will you? She's not only a capable kunoichi; she's also one of my special people." Her voice shook. "She's like a daughter to me."

Sakura was taken aback by Kurenai's affections, but she quickly took it in stride. "I know. I'm not about to let anything happen to her."

"Good." Kurenai stood up. "I have nothing else to say then. Good luck."

Sakura watched her silently as she left. Now that she had a choice Naruto flooded her mind, and she visibly winced. What was he doing now? He was probably wondering why he was working on her day off, or he was probably thinking of their fight. She winced again, rubbing her forehead with anxious fingers.

"_What do I do now…?"_

_----_

Naruto had stopped his dash into the wilderness, now that he had finally exited Konoha borders. He sat at the edge of the tree, now wondering what he could possibly do for the rest of his life.

He looked up into the night sky and was taken aback by the brightness that lit up his face. The full moon looked foreign to all the clustered and shimmering stars. Back in Konoha he had never seen so many stars. He was mesmerized by the nearly dangerous sight before backing away into the shelter of a tree, flinching even as an animal darted past or if their shadows flickered.

Sakura's smiling face haunted his mind, and he closed his eyes and stopped fighting against it. It was all over anyway. Why was she working on a day she had off? Slowly the curiosity got the better of him. Was something wrong? He shook his head hard. It didn't matter now. Nothing mattered. The only thing that did was that she was going to be okay.

He stared up at the night sky, sighing. He rubbed his forehead subconsciously. He was oblivious to the fact Sakura was staring at the same sky, but only in a different view. But on their mouths were the same unspoken statement.

"_Did I take a step too far?"_

----

_I know the chapter is short, but one of my reviewers summed this chap up nicely: This is probably the hardest chapter I'm going to write._

_That reviewer hit it dead on. It was extremely hard. I had to pattern it this way because it was the turning point for both of them, and if it was only one point of view you would have gotten a long, rambling chap much like Ch. 2._

_Review anyway. This story will love you, and so will I._

_And guys__ , 100 reviews. Five or so chaps. What the hell. It's amazing, thank you so much! _


	6. Shattered Intentions

_Sakura…_

Even a month later, the name repeated in his mind like a mantra. He couldn't get rid of it, and he didn't want to. Every memory, in this case, would keep him alive.

Tsunade's jutsu had now faded, and he had to stop frequently. Blood splattered the ground as he coughed so violently he fell to his hands and knees. But he had to wipe the blood off his mouth with his sleeve and keep going. It was all he could do.  
_  
"Keep going…"_

There was a reason Naruto never led missions, and the reason was this: He couldn't navigate a forest to save his sorry excuse for a life.

He must have passed that rock twice every single day he had left the village. It had taken him a few weeks to leave the forest that surrounded Konoha alone, and then he had no idea where he was going. He had the common sense to purify water and cook for himself, and those were the only things that kept him alive.

_"Maybe I should just end it…"_

But it was no use. Every time he had thoughts like that, Sakura's smiling face would flood his mind even more than usual. He'd remember when her punch sent him flying whenever he said something perverted, she'd slap her forehead whenever he did something stupid, and she'd scold him when he screwed up.

But every time he fell, she was there to catch him.

Not this time, though. Not this time.

Groaning, he impatiently wiped blood off of his mouth and staggered to his feet. He would have to keep going. If there was even the slightest chance that the ANBU were still out looking for him… he shuddered at the thought.

It was the only thought that set him off running again, except this time, the blood… it was so much worse. It splattered the trees because he refused to stop. It splattered the ground, everything… It was like painting the forest red, so red that the natural beauty was all gone.  
_  
"Baka!"_

Naruto froze.

_"Kami! Why do you men have to push yourselves too far? Sasuke… Lee… now you!"_

Naruto shook his head violently and kept running. The memory had taken him aback, but it didn't matter now… it never mattered…

However, his thoughts were only on Sakura as finally, his body could take no more. He didn't feel his mind get dizzy, nor did he feel it shut down. His last thought was on pink hair and bright green eyes as his body finally hit the floor.

--

_"Where… am I?"_

Naruto's eyes slowly rolled open, but there was no forest. He was undoubtedly dreaming, as a matter of fact. Because last time he checked, reality didn't have a deep, deep black abyss and have him floating at the same time.

"Naruto…"

He winced; he knew that voice better than anyone did. He couldn't even feel relieved that it wasn't Sakura or Sasuke or anyone else that haunted his dreams and lived in his mind at day. And now, thanks to him, he lived a life of fear, a life of never knowing what was going to happen to him… until it did happen. He hated him for it.

"Still blaming me?"

Naruto was silent. He wasn't sure how to speak, how to communicate. He was so… heavy. His brain felt compressed. He knew he once knew how to talk, but he just… couldn't remember. Wait, his mouth…?

"Always." The word shocked him; his raspy voice seemed to belong to a different person. Slowly, he taught himself to move again. It seemed like a lifetime had passed before he sat up, looking around for the source of the noise.

"This time, it isn't my fault." The voice chuckled. "Most of the times, I'll take the blame, but not this time. This time, your body is the only thing to blame."

"If you didn't exist…"

"Perhaps. But then you wouldn't be the person you are. Life would be very different… boring, even." There was a large yawning noise, before he added, "Oh, it might be a good idea to wake up now. Someone's calling you."

"Someone's… calling me?"

"Wake up, you fool!"

_"Wake up… wake up… wake up…!"_

"Hey! You there! Are you awake?"

Naruto stirred, and his eyelids fluttered for an instant before slowly opening. His vision was foggy at first, but he wasn't expecting another human face right in front of his.

He shot up with a yell, and the young girl that looked fifteen or so jumped, but she recovered quickly and scooted herself over to the side so he wouldn't hit her. "Finally you're up," she said with a brisk voice that sounded like she had known him forever. "I thought you'd never get up, you know. You've been out for three days." She stared at him curiously.

"Who are you?" Naruto couldn't monitor the rude question, but the girl in front of him didn't seem to care much.

"Miori." The youth stood up, flicking back her well combed, but dirty black hair behind her shoulder. Her dark brown eyes flashed as she stood up.

"Your proper name?"

"Don't have one."

Naruto couldn't seem to process this information. "What do you mean, you don't have one?"

"I mean I can't remember it," she snapped peevishly, her temper flaring in her bright eyes. "Do you need me to spell it out for you?"

Naruto blinked. That certainly wasn't expected. "You don't remember? How can you not remember?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Miori's voice was now cold and brittle, and her eyes flashed back into a cool emotionless gaze. "Your name?"

Naruto hesitated. The lack of information was startling, but he decided to let it go. It wasn't his business to pry, especially with a person he never even met. If it was Sasuke or Sakura or even the other shinobi, he'd probably be pestering them until they either told him to shut up or they did it anyway just to humor him. He used to annoy people he never met as well, but it was safe to say that he grew up a little due to the past few days.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Pleasure." Miori stood up, flicking her hair behind her shoulders once more. "I have something cooking, if you'd like it. Frankly, you look so pale that it's obvious that you haven't eaten in ages.

Naruto grunted, but he obligingly stood up- or at least tried to. He stumbled once he got up, for his legs felt like jelly. He felt the rushing feeling of coughing up blood again, and he had to swallow it down to stop himself.

"Whoa, there." Miori was instantly there, supporting his shoulder. "You're pretty weak there, buddy. You were also coughing blood while you were sleeping, are you all right?" For a first in the brief amount of time Naruto had known her, she actually sounded concerned.

"No. But there's really nothing you can do about it. There's nothing any one can do." Once his legs felt sturdy, he pushed away from Miori. "I'm good now."

Miori was still staring at him, but to Naruto's relief she let it go just like he did earlier. "You might as well get something to eat, we can't have you dying of starvation."

Her dry remark caused Naruto to bark with laughter. "And leave me to die of something else?"

Miori was no longer cold and brittle. Her eyes still had that concerned light, but her mouth was full of mirth. It was obvious that icy girl was just a façade against strangers. Maybe she didn't get much company? "Well, at least it won't be my fault."

"True enough."

Now a hint of curiosity crossed into Miori's eyes. "Are you really dying?"

"Yes."

It felt like a relief for Naruto to finally say the words, no matter how much it hurt him to say so. It was like finally admitting to himself.

Miori was silent for the longest time, her deep chocolate eyes studying him for the longest time. Finally she broke the silence.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured.

"You can't be as sorry as I am." Naruto gave a harsh laugh. "I had to leave my village; I couldn't face them. I couldn't face the one I loved most. Or maybe I just wanted to protect them. I don't know anymore."

Miori led him to her small, obviously handcrafted dining table. The edges were rough with wood from trees, but it was sturdy enough. She served him some sort of unidentifiable dumplings, and despite himself, he was too hungry to make much protest about them. They weren't half bad, at any rate.

"Do you know why?" asked Miori, her piercing eyes tracking his every movement as he dug into her meal.

"I don't want to talk about it." Naruto's voice came out harsher than he meant it to, but he probably wouldn't take it back.

Miori was quiet once again, and Naruto was left to eat in silence. She was playing with her hair, pale fingers combing through the filthy strands and twisting it in them, and Naruto was stuck by how pale she truly was. "I lost my memories about a year ago," she said abruptly, looking up while twisting her dark hair some more.

"Come again?" Naruto was taken aback.

"I woke up, lying on the forest floor… I can't remember anything about my past. Only my name, Miori. No last name or anything." She looked down at the table, pulling at her hair now. Naruto heard her foot nervously tapping the tatami mats below her. "I mean, cooking and other things of survival… I instinctively know that. But I can't remember if I had a family, I can't remember my birthday… I don't know anything about me. I don't even know the life I'm living is me."

It was Naruto's turn to stare at her. He had certainly heard of amnesia; Sakura occasionally had to deal with it in her work place. She hated it more than surgeries or patients that had gone insane. But such long term…?

"The only reason why I know somewhat how to associate with people is that my house is often a resting spot with shinobi," Miori continued in a dull voice, her voice flat. Naruto ran his hand through his blonde, messy hair as Miori continued her story in a very flat tone, as if emotion would cause her to break down. "And this is all I can do. I don't even know where to start."

"I'm sorry," was all Naruto could think of to say, the way Miori had earlier.

"It's okay. It feels good to finally talk about with someone. All the other shinobi that stopped by here were mostly worried about themselves and nobody else. Very few of them cared I had no last name." She straightened out of her chair when she saw Naruto was done, and picked up his leftovers to throw them out. "But you… you're different."

"Erm…thanks?" Naruto scratched his head.

Miori laughed, and her laughter was soft just like the rest of her voice. "You should take that as a compliment."

Slowly, an idea was forming into Naruto's head. For what he was about to do, he would probably need someone's help. Miori was no Sakura, and she never would be. But he might as well ask…

"Well, why don't you come with me?"

Miori froze when she was in the middle of pushing open the doors. Naruto couldn't see her facial expression due to the curtain of hair falling in her face, but he was feeling patient that day. He waited.

Finally Miori looked over at him, surprise in her features. "Me? Come with you?"

"Your surprise is almost insulting," Naruto said dryly, rubbing the back of his head. "Look. We both have things to do. You need to get your memories back and I need to keep a promise for a friend I left behind in the village. We're in the same boat. I could use your help and you can use mine, providing you have any ninja skills."

"I do and all, it was another instinct I had when I woke up," Miori responded instantly, looking insulted as well. "You just seem like a loner to me. Someone who does everything by himself."

"Sometimes, I have the brains to see common sense," he responded easily. "I've worked with people before, and while I like taking the lead all the time, I don't think many of my missions would have been any good. I assume you know how a village functions?"

"Only because shinobi have come and gone from here," Miori replied, finally letting herself into the room and pushing the door closed. "I don't understand it fully though. Like the ranks confuse me and other things. I don't know much about this world, so I don't see how I can help you."

Naruto was still thinking as Miori went into his sleeping quarters to make the bed. "Well, are your skills any good?"

"I like to think so," Miori called through the room's thin walls. "I don't have any special moves, but I'm fast, and I can physically fight."

"It works. You want to come or not?" Naruto waited for an answer, which the young girl was sure taking her sweet time to respond.

Finally she opened the door, a wide smile on her face. "I need my memories, and you have something important to do." She looked elated as the smile continued to spread. "Why not?"

--

_Terribly sorry for the chapter delay. When I first wrote out Miori, she seemed really flat and not much of a character, so I scrapped it and rewrote it._

Now I want to make something perfectly clear. There isn't, and there never will be ANYTHING between Naruto and Miori. This isn't going to be a NaruSakuOC, this is JUST NaruSaku and no other pairing. I created Miori for the reason to make the storyline flow more easily and smooth out any rough edges. That's all she's for. But I hope you like her anyway.

Review. Please. I love criticism, I love flames, and I love praise. They all make me happy. At least I know what I'm doing wrong (or right).

_**FAQ:**_

**_Why did Naruto leave the village/why is he coughing up blood?_**

_Hope this chapter will clear things up. He's dying, so obviously he doesn't want to hurt Sakura again, and he has a promise to keep. He's killing two birds with one stone with this. There's a lot more to it, of course, but you're just going to have to read and find out._

**_Are you retiring from fanfiction?_**

_Yep. Once this story is done, you MAY get the occasional oneshot, but no more multi-chapter crap. Why? Because I'm exploiting my talents in the original fic world. Once this story is done, look at my profile now and then. I WILL update it if I get something published._

**_Expected question: Is Naruto going to die?!_**

_Guys, just trust me. I have the ending very clearly in my mind; I know exactly what's going to happen. And as much as I hate happy endings, this story would be marked a tragedy if I had intentions of killing off one of the main characters in the middle of the story. I have no intentions in disappointing my readers TOO much. Now, if you're going to twist that into "Is he going to die anytime soon?" the answer is no. _

_If you don't like how this story is turning out, you know where the back button is. ;D_


	7. Breaking Point

"Sakura-chaaaaaaan!" A youth whined, running up to the pink haired woman and throwing his arms around her legs. She sighed, kneeling down and gently detangling his iron grip.

"Satoshi, what's wrong with you now?" Sakura lowered herself to eye level.

"I cut my finger!" he wailed, showing the bloody finger for all to see. The others behind him winced and squealed.

Sakura sighed, and immediately squashed the urge to heal him on the spot to stop him from complaining. "Honey, I need to save my energy for Hinata so her leg can get better," she said gently. Hinata had gone over leaps and bounds, but occasionally, the pain was too much. "It's only a cut. True ninjas have to go through cuts like that all the time.

Satoshi sniffed. "R-really?"

"Hai. Can't have the others think that you aren't brave enough to handle a cut, can we?"

A slow smile crossed over his face. "No! That won't do at all!"

"Atta boy." Sakura patted him on the head. "Off you go. Here's some cloth, wrap it around your finger to stop the bleeding." She handed him some. "It'll be fine."

"Okay, Sakura-chan!" The boy ran off, obviously to show off how brave he was to the other students. Sakura laughed softly before standing up, shaking her head at the little kid's antics. She had a soft spot for them; that much was certain.

"Sakura-san?"

"Hello, Hinata-san." Sakura smiled, trying to block her exhaustion out of that smile. "Ready to get to work?"

"Hai."

It was a month after Hinata and the rest of her team dragged themselves back home, and their progress was astounding. Tenten was officially out of the hospital as was Kiba, and both had been on missions since the attack. Hinata was still on a cane, and while Chouji was still in the hospital, he was recovering nicely from his injuries and was to be released in a couple of days.

Naruto was still on that blasted mission Tsunade sent him on. Sakura was seriously beginning to wonder if her sensei had completely and utterly lost her mind. It was obvious that Naruto was in no shape to do any sort of mission; hell, even she wasn't ready for a mission quite yet. But she couldn't argue, or else she'd be the one flying through a wall.

"Hinata-san, I want you to walk just like this, but use your cane, we're just trying to keep your knee straight," instructed Sakura once the path was clear.

Hinata was wobbling horribly, but she got the exercise pretty well. Her kneecap was almost completely back on straight, and the fractures were finally starting to heal. It would probably take another month or two for her to be completely back to normal, but she was on her way.

"Is this good?" Hinata shot Sakura a brilliant smile, despite her labor.

Sakura was taken aback from the grin, before she smiled widely back. "Hai! Perfect! Keep it up! Walk a few more steps and we'll go back to stretching."

Sakura watched intently as she hobbled those extra steps. The pain etched clearly on the young woman's face and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but Sakura could feel her determination even from where she was standing. Hinata even a took a few more steps after Sakura only said a few before she stopped, and she turned her head with bright pearl eyes fastening on Sakura's emerald ones.

"Sit down, and start your stretches. I'll watch."

Sakura was looking at her like a hawk as Hinata went through her usual stretches that made up her physical therapy. A few times, she had to grit her teeth from the pain and her leg wouldn't let her go any further, so Sakura had to hurry up and give her some of her chakra.

"Hang in there," growled Sakura at one point when Hinata's leg was frozen in midair, tears brimming from her eyes in the physical pain. Sakura touched Hinata's leg and the blue chakra streamed into her leg, and Hinata was moving again.

"That was fantastic, Hinata-san," she breathed, standing up and placing her hands on her knees.

"I feel so bad." Hinata shot a worried look towards Sakura. "This is such a drain on you and I can tell you always get tired when we do this and-"

"Hinata-san," Sakura cut her off. "Breathe." She shot her a dazzling smile through her deep breaths and rapid heart rate. "Do you seriously think that if I didn't want to do this, I would do it? You can continue physical therapy without my chakra; it just makes things easier and faster."

"Are you sure?" Hinata still looked worried.

"I'm a doctor. It's my job." Sakura straightened once she caught her breath. Hinata was back to normal too, and Sakura helped her back into upright position and grabbed her cane.

Hinata was silent for quite a long time, and Sakura could tell she was contemplating something. She knew better than to interrupt and dig into her thoughts like she did back when she was the obnoxious age of twelve, so she waited. If Hinata never brought it up, it was her choice.

"Where do you think he is?" she asked at last, shaking back her long, dark hair.

It didn't take rocket science to figure out what Hinata was talking about. Sakura took her time with her answer, matching Hinata's drastically slowed pace.

"I honestly have no idea," Sakura replied at last, looking up. "Tsunade hasn't been giving out much detail about it, which I can understand, and-"

"Sakura-san, with all due respect, I don't think that's what's going on." It was Hinata's turn to cut her off, and Sakura stared at her in dumbfounded surprise. Their walking abruptly stopped, and they were staring at each other as Hinata's sentence rang in the air between them.

"What do you mean?" Sakura finally asked, and they continued to walk on.

"Well, think about it. While Naruto is extremely brave and very hardworking, he can be a little thickheaded sometimes." Sakura couldn't stop a loud snort, and Hinata chose to ignore this. "Tsunade-sama would be insane to let him go on a mission alone, because he always has to prove himself, you know?"

Sakura was silent. What Hinata said made sense, but why would Tsunade lie about it?

"My sensei wouldn't lie to me." But only a deaf person wouldn't be able to hear the doubt and uncertainty in her voice.

Hinata smiled, but it seemed strained. "To protect the people of the village? I believe Tsunade would do anything. I would hope she would do anything. Just… think about that, all right?"

Sakura nodded. This bit of insight had more than unsettled her, but she shook her head hard. She couldn't think about that. Not now.

"Since when are you not afraid to speak your mind?" said Sakura, but it sounded affectionate. She gave Hinata a gentle whack upside the head, and the dark haired woman immediately blushed.

"Too much time with Kiba, perhaps?" Hinata suggested shyly, scratching her head and smiling wanly.

"…Hai, that would do it." It didn't matter how shy anyone was, the proper amount of time with that obnoxious youth was enough to make anyone at least a little brazen-minded.

"Well, I'm going to head home." Hinata put the cane firmly on the ground. "Have a nice day, Sakura-san."

"You too!" Sakura waved as she jogged back to her house, quickly unlocking the door and letting herself in. She wiped the sweat that had formed on her brow, and winced. Her sessions, no matter how willing, with Hinata were always tiring. She stripped down and jumped in the shower, sighing as the cool water hit her skin.

_"I wonder…"_

She scrubbed at her filthy hair absentmindedly; for Hinata's words had more of an impact than she would ever realize. Was Naruto really on a mission, or was that an excuse? He did seem rather weak last time she saw him, and the circumstances just didn't really add up. At any rate…

The water slicked off her skin like rain, and with every drop Sakura grew more and more apprehensive of the fact. Why would Tsunade lie to her? Why?

_To protect the village… I believe Tsunade would do anything. I would hope Tsunade would do anything._

Of course that was right. Tsunade was Hokage, the supreme leader of this village. And to keep it safe… but how would this lie protect the village?

_"I need to know the truth."_

Protecting the village or not, she had to know the truth. Something was up, and with Naruto, she cared too damn much. Maybe she was being a busybody. Maybe she was acting like the snotty twelve-year old brat she once was… but this was different, wasn't it?

She turned off the shower with a quick turn of her hand and stepped out, toweling her hair and the rest of her body. She would head out tonight. She quickly dressed into a fresh change of clothes and fastened her forehead protector in her hair once more before jogging out the door.

However, all thoughts were quickly and mercilessly erased when she heard the village sound its dreadful alarm. ANBU ninja ran through the quiet town, and there was no mistaking the stretcher splattered with red.

--

"Where and when did you find him?" Sakura demanded, sitting down at Tsunade's desk. Tsunade sighed and ran her fingers through each of her pigtails: she knew her student wouldn't leave without an answer.

"We found him just on the edge of our territory, near the Sunagakure." Tsunade rested her forehead in her palm. "He was starting to skeletonize, and even a few of his organs had been removed. Kami!"

Sakura felt all the blood drain from her face. She was never close to Shino, but having a fellow student so brutally murdered…

"Other injuries?" Sakura pressed, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Similar to Hinata and Chouji. He must have been separated from the group. There's no other way the others would have made it out alive. Tenten and Kiba were lucky." She stood up warily. "And with Naruto…" She stopped cold, but Sakura picked up on it right away. Her eyes went a deadly narrow.

"What about Naruto?" Sakura couldn't stop it- there was a challenge evident in her tone. Tsunade gave her a brutal glare, but Sakura held her gaze. Her foot tapped nervously on the floor, but luckily, she had the rest of her under control. The room was so silent that it was almost loud.

Finally Tsunade looked exhausted beyond her years, and leaned back into her chair. She sighed. "Naruto… he's not on a mission. He ran away."

Obviously Tsunade wasn't expecting for Sakura to jump up and slam her palms on her desk, leaning over. Sakura shocked herself too. Was this what losing her mind felt like? Acting out of pure impulse, doing things as the saner portion of herself watched on helplessly?

"Naruto wouldn't do that!" she snapped angrily. "How dare you say that! This village means the world to him, he's even going to become Hokage, he's-"

"Sakura."

Sakura immediately stopped her tirade at Tsunade's voice. "He didn't run off because he was a coward. He never would have done that; you're right. But to protect you and the village… he would."

Sakura stared at Tsunade's bright orange eyes for a long, long time. Slowly, she began to back off and sit in her chair again. Tsunade waited for her pupil to catch her breath, to let her calm down. He left to protect the village? How? It couldn't be the Kyuubi, such a thing has never stopped him before. But… maybe a change in something?

"I owe you an explanation, I suppose," Tsunade slumped in her chair. "I'm sorry, Sakura… it's just one thing after another, isn't it?" Sakura was shocked to see her eyes brimming with tears. Never had she seen her mentor so upset. Sakura sat back in her chair, not saying a word. What could she possibly say?

She kept screwing up. She had been a screw up since Sasuke left. Sasori and everyone else were just small victories to distract her from the bigger picture. She was still proud of her feats, but… there was always something there. Something there and Sasuke would always call that failure.

The thought usually would have brought tears to her eyes, but not this time. Maybe she was just too tired to really feel anymore. Ever since that day in the hail… every day since then she had felt defeated.

But Tsunade's simple words made her want to get up and run out of the room.

"Naruto's dying."

It felt like the floor went crashing out from under her feet, and she was falling. Sakura's jaw went slack, but she managed to keep it closed. What could she mean? No… it couldn't be.

"W-what?" she whispered.

"The Kyuubi… it's always had an effect on his cells." Tsunade sounded detached, as if she would break down from the news. "He would have a shorter life than most anyway, because the human body just isn't capable of housing a demon of that magnitude. But he's been stressed, obviously… and his cells are breaking down at an alarmingly fast rate. His body is getting weaker and weaker… and there's even a bigger problem."

Sakura stared at her, her already fair skin drastically pale.

"Usually, he bounces back. He responds very well to stress. He doesn't give up, and he keeps going. That's the only reason he's still alive. But… finally, whatever happened, it was too much. The fact of the matter is, he's not even trying anymore. His entire body is shutting down, and blood vessels are bursting every second in his body. He's given up, Sakura, and he wanted out of here so you wouldn't have to watch him die. He's out of here so he wouldn't risk the Kyuubi destroying us again."

It was like all the air was sucked out of the room. She couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't even see. Her vision was so cloudy… Sakura shoved herself out of her chair, stumbling as she did so, and bolted blindly out of the room. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't escape Naruto's words that stormy night in his house.

_"You'll probably even kill me."_

--

**No FAQ's.**

_Meh. I suck at updating on time, don't I? Well, here's another chapter… obviously. Have fun reading. And reviewing if you so desire. :P_


	8. Calm Before the Storm

Leaves rustled as feet hit the bark of every tree, but otherwise, all was silent. Voices could occasionally be heard, but other that, it was so quiet. Not something Naruto was used to, by any means.

"Do you know where we are?" Naruto called backwards, glancing at the girl who was very quick to keep up with him.

"I have no idea," Miori called back, increasing her pace to keep up with him. Other than panting slightly more than usual, the amount of exercise didn't seem to bother her. "Once we're out of the forest I'll have a more general idea. I'm no expert though."

"We'll figure it out!" Naruto lunged to the next tree, a practice that took him a while to master when he was young, but now it was mechanical as breathing.

"Yeah, it's not like we don't have plenty of time." Miori's eyes narrowed, and he could detect fear and other emotions in her gaze. Naruto wondered what this journey would bring her. Would her memories finally return… or would she be back at square one again? Either way, she had nothing left to lose. But then again, it was a massive risk to take. She had to be scared of no matter what she would find.

For once, Naruto was terrified, too. Memories of Sakura and Konoha often plagued his mind, as well as the horrors of the future yet to come. His life would be no happy ending, that much was obvious. But… what other choice did he have? Naruto couldn't stop the shivers going down his spine, and the grim truth was spreading.

Miori shot him a sympathetic glance, and Naruto let a small smile cross his face before he focused on the road. Even if Miori was no Sakura, and he didn't even know her… at least he wasn't doing this alone.

"So. The plan?" Miori finally spoke, her words ringing into the silence like a gong despite her soft voice. Naruto nearly jumped a mile from the sudden vocals, but he quickly calmed himself down.

"We need to find the village, and then it's pure ass kicking from there. Simple."

Miori rolled her eyes. "Just because you're in… well… you know, doesn't mean we should do a suicide mission. I think we need to think this through-" she cut herself off briefly as she leaped and grabbed a high branch, hoisted herself up with a grunt, and took off with one foot again- "so we don't do something stupid," she finished, looking to the side at him. She looked worried that she might have said the wrong thing, but Naruto shrugged it off. It must have been hard for her, to try and not get too attached but know enough about him to work together.

"I guess we could think of something when we get there. As you said…" Naruto shot her a goofy look, and Miori had to stifle her laughter. "We've got plenty of time."

"Touché." Miori let out a low whistle. "All right, have it your way then, O' wise one of the heavens."

"Damn straight."

This time, Miori didn't even bother disguising her laughter. She shook her head. "Are you always this arrogant? Because if you are, I'm going to have to ask your village on how they put up with you."

Naruto felt another shot of pain in his heart, but he ignored it. "They didn't. They just screamed at me and punished me. One of them punched me on a regular basis, it was great." He felt that searing pain again, but it was more heartache than anything.

"Sounds fun."

"It was, believe it or not." Suddenly a trickle of ruby started dribbling out of his mouth, until he felt himself weaken and collapse.

"Naruto!"

He landed on the forest floor on his feet before collapsing to the ground, coughing spasms wracking his body and more scarlet splattering the floor. His coughing got louder for a little while, and he realized how hopeless Miori would have felt. Naruto looked up to see her worried eyes before looking back down to cough again.

Once he was done, he wiped his mouth and jumped up into a tree.

Miori was quick to follow. "Are you sure we should go on? You-"

"It's nothing I'm not used to at this point," Naruto choked out, his voice raspy and throaty.

Miori still looked unsure, but to Naruto's relief, she didn't push it. She jumped to the tree next to Naruto's, to avoid getting in his way. They took off once more, and they continued in silence for the longest time. The quiet was a comfort to Naruto for once, no more judgment… no nothing.

"So… where are we going again?" Miori's eyebrows furrowed, as if she was in deep concentration. Naruto was briefly taken aback from this, before responding promptly.

"Otogakure. It's where my old best friend is. I have a few things to do there. Why?"

Miori nodded slowly, her dark eyes wide and unfocused. Naruto hated that look she sometimes got, it seemed like she would remember something, but then forget it two seconds later. He stared forward and leaped straight up, grabbing a higher than usual branch with his hands, and copied Miori's earlier movement exactly.

"Otogakure…" Miori murmured, dropping to the floor easily as the forest slowly came to an end, and replaced by slowly rolling valleys. "It rings a bell…"

He slammed to a halt, the news thoroughly shocking him. "Does it?" asked Naruto, somewhat excited. "Does the name Uchiha Sasuke ring a bell too?"

Miori bit her bottom lip, obviously thinking with extreme effort. She sat down in the grass, and once again, it was silent. Naruto was rapidly getting anxious with every second. If it did strike up a familiarity with her, then it meant that all of them were linked. And maybe Miori would figure out some advantages of what to do from there.

His hopes immediately crashed when Miori slowly shook her head. "No. It doesn't. Gomen." She smiled apologetically in his direction. She stared at her feet, obviously wondering. Naruto was curious too. How could she remember one thing, but not know of someone vital to Otogakure? It made no sense at all, and the puzzle was getting too complicated. He stood up, eager to forget about it.

"Come on. Let's head there. It's obvious the key to your memory lies there, and hey, it makes my life a whole lot easier," he teased, trying to cheer Miori up. A slow smile graced her features, but her beauty didn't affect him in the least. It was always Sakura who haunted his mind. She stood up, flicking her hair behind her shoulders. Naruto noticed that this was a habit of hers, what she did whenever she was getting her thoughts straightened out.

"Well, thanks. I can rest a lot easier now that I know you're life is easier," said Miori sarcastically as she began to run. Naruto easily caught up with her, racing across the fields almost in unison.

"Oh, shut up!" Naruto called, and he found it amazingly amusing that they were already such good friends after only a day. It was as if they have known each other forever. Miori was so open and so easygoing that it was hard not to like her, and they both had their issues that the other could try and help to solve. Like this:

"Are we going to kick your friend's ass or something?"

"Yep."

"Sounds fun."

And that was it. She never digged into Naruto's past, she always listened, and she was fun to talk with. One of the few people that could actually understand him.

Never as well as Sakura though. In addition, there was one other problem with her…

"Ow!"

She was actually extremely clumsy, despite her usual ninja skills.

"You tripped again?!" said Naruto exasperatedly, helping her up. "How the hell can you trip here?"

"I don't know!" Miori's short temper flared, and Naruto could only shake his head in amusement. "It was the grass!"

"Miori, the grass here is short!"

"Oooh! Shut up!"

She was also very sensitive about said clumsiness. Naruto rolled his eyes and continued to run. After a few more seconds, Miori joined him.

"I don't mean to trip, you know," grumbled Miori, her dark hair flying behind her. "It just happens occasionally."

"I know." Naruto was calm as they continued to dash towards the village.

"It's better than it was," she offered, a small smile playing at her lips.

Naruto instantly whipped his head towards her, his eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I tripped every five seconds, and I wish I could say I'm exaggerating."

"Wow." Naruto couldn't imagine falling over so much. It sounded like it must have hurt like crazy, and it had to be extremely dangerous to fall over during self-defense and such. But then again, his problems weren't much better. It got in his way as well, and he could only pray that it wouldn't get in the way once business with Otogakure had begun.

"We should stop," Miori suggested. "We've been going for days, and this is probably the only tree left for miles. We'll have to be very careful, and we're exhausted."

Naruto didn't have the strength to argue too much. "Oh come on," he whined anyway, while sitting down at the tree. He gave a slight grin in her direction, and Miori just shook her head before sitting down as well.

"Well, crazy boy, I'm going to sleep. Night." Miori folded herself into a ball on her side, and Naruto gave a very loud sigh.

"Now I'm alone, how could you?"

There was silence, except for Miori's soft breathing.

"Oh, come on! No one falls asleep that fast!"

Apparently so.

"Damn it…"

Naruto lay on his back, sighing loudly again. Miori must have been tired; she must not be in action very much anymore. She stuck around her little hut all day so there wasn't much in the realm of exercising. He sank further into the grass, but the familiar pain racked his body and soon he was rolling over again, splattering green with flashes of deep crimson. It almost seemed like a mechanical routine now.

Even his coughs didn't awaken the sleeping Miori; she only mumbled a little bit and rolled over to her other side.

Naruto felt his eyes close, even when he didn't want them to. Someone… had to keep watch…

He was out before he could complete the thought.

--  
_  
"Baka!"_

Naruto was smiling widely, goofily, until he realized that a fist was connecting with his face. He gave a familiar screech until he was sent into the air, and he was too distracted by the burning feeling in his face to worry too much that he might just hit a tree or something.

"You…insensitive…GAH!" Sakura was screaming after his flying body, and she started racing after it. Naruto hit a tree with a sickening thud. That chick REALLY needed to reign in her strength.

"Owww! Sakura-chaaaaan, that hurt!"

"Deal with it!" Sakura actually reminded him of a badger at this point. Her eyes were wild with rage, and that blasted vein was twitching in her forehead.

"What did I do?" Naruto continued to whine, before shooting a goofy grin in her direction. Sakura rolled her eyes and stalked off in the other direction, her face totally livid.

"Sakura-chan?"

"What do you WANT from me?!" Sakura whirled around, her fists clenched to her sides. "Just leave me alone!"

"Don't smile."

Naruto could tell she was confused. Sakura tilted her head to one side. "Wait…what?"

"Don't smile!" His voice was stretched out and taunting. Sakura's mouth twitched but she crossed her arms, trying her best to look like a figure with authority.

"Don't smile, don't smile, don't smile!" Naruto was giddy with his voice now. He bounced up and down. "Goddamn it, you're smiling! Stop it!"

Sakura was laughing at this point, holding her stomach and her shoulders shook with mirth.

"Hey, you see?" Naruto got up and brushed himself off, and then jogged over to her. "I rock your socks off and you know it."

"Oh, shut up."

--

Naruto's dark blue eyes slowly opened, revealing the rolling oceans that could often be seen. Miori was still sleeping soundly, and he had no intention of waking her up. The sun was just about to set, after all, so they might as well just sleep until the next day. And if any enemies were to come, they would have already.

Naruto's mind was plagued by the thoughts of her again, and this time, it was a happy memory. Not the memories with which he left her. He sighed, burying his face in his knees. Why did he have to open his big mouth? Sakura wasn't strong enough to bear this kind of pain when she was fighting so hard as is… he sighed, but this time, it was soft.

He screwed everything up.

He let himself fall over to the side, before staring up at the sky. It was beautiful, with plenty of stars and such a bright moon.

_"It's full tonight."_

As he went to sleep, he didn't see the cloud shift over the moon, blocking the light and perhaps the hope.

--  
_  
Yes, I know the last line's confusing. No, I'm not telling you what it means. ;)_

Sooooo you guys should get mad at me more often for not updating. I think that was quicker than usual. Or maybe I'm just delusional and I should just shut up now.

_PLEASE tell me what you think. It means a lot and it may mean a faster update. I'm not whoring for reviews, I'm just simply whoring for advice. :)_


	9. Caught in the Crossfire

Sakura was destroyed.

She was on her knees in Naruto's room, no longer panting from her frenzied plight from Tsunade's office. Instead, she was staring at the walls. She felt like she was going to go insane.

When she got to his house she immediately tore apart the place, trying to find some proof that what Tsunade said was a lie. She found the bloody pillowcase in the trash, and some droplets of dark red in the bathroom. Panicked, she had dashed to his room. And she had fallen to her knees, screaming.

It was _clean. _His bed was made, but the drawers had been opened. Sakura didn't even have to look to know that clothes were missing. He was gone. He had run away, and he had no intentions of ever coming back.

Why?

Sakura couldn't even move despite the shrieking agony in her chest, and her body numbed to try and destroy the pain. But it was there no matter what, and there was no denying it: she was dying herself, just not in the same way.

She felt trapped. No matter how much she lunged at the key locks, she would bounce back into the cage with more pain. More and more as her life crashed around her feet. Nothing was the same after Sasuke left, but somehow, this was so much worse. They were both gone, and there was no one she could ask to get Naruto back.

She mentally kicked herself at the thought. She didn't want to be selfish, but she was. She wanted to get them back herself, but she couldn't. She was locked inside, and as long as the key was missing, Sakura would never be free.

Her lingering sigh reflected her torment. Tears were slowly streaming down her face, but she couldn't fully cry. The crushing weight of guilt stopped that. It was what held Sakura's heart down; it's what stopped her from jumping to her feet and racing after those two herself.

She thought she cut off this weakness when she cut her hair, goddamn it!

Sakura pounded her fist down into the floor, and watched in dull fascination as tear droplets hit the floor with tranquil plops. She wasn't even aware of getting up, crossing into the door. The emerald-eyed ninja only became aware of this fact when she turned around, staring at the room for one last time that day.

The pink haired girl scanned the room hungrily, drinking in detail. It was all she had left of him. She stood there. Seconds, minutes, hours, she could never tell. But it felt so long, so long until she had the strength to move her feet.

She felt the doors to her memories close as she shut the door to his room and left the house.

"_It's already dark…?" _She had been sitting in Naruto's room for hours, obviously. She winced as her knees sent her sharp protests from walking. Her hands were asleep, her body obviously knew she had been there for too long, in the same position, but her mind sure didn't.

The dirt roads that marked her pathways seemed long and relentless. All of the buildings were quiet in the shadows of the night, but Sakura didn't find them as a comfort. Instead, they were claws that ripped into her soul just like everything else.

But even her senses weren't so dull she couldn't pick up footsteps coming from behind her.

She whirled around, and in the same fluid motion, Sakura flicked out a kunai of her pouch at her leg and threw it at the end of her spin. Metal against metal clashed through the silence of the night, and Sakura was getting ready to jump backwards and defend herself before she heard a shout.

"Sakura-san, it's me!"

Sakura hesitated, and she visibly relaxed when she heard the soft voice. "Hinata-san, you scared the crap out of me!" she called, but she forced her voice to be light-hearted and painless. However, she winced at the forced edge.

Hinata walked into her line of vision; Sakura could barely see her dark hair against the midnight black hues of the sky. Only the moon and the stars assisted her at this point. However, her opalescent eyes glistened so visibly that Sakura was taken aback by them, although it wasn't the first time she had seen them under such circumstances. Hinata limped the rest of the way until she was next to the waiting Sakura. Hinata's light-colored eyes were dull with pain, and she looked exhausted beyond her years. Sakura felt her heart sink at Hinata's appearance.

"Nice throw! I barely caught that one. Walk with me?" asked Hinata, her voice obviously forced into cheerfulness, her head tilted and she smiled with closed eyes.

Sakura ignored her compliment, and cut to the chase. "What are you doing out here at this hour?" Despite her scolding words, Sakura began to move forward, making sure she matched pace with the slower girl. "You're supposed to be resting."

"I couldn't sleep." Now Hinata's voice was quiet, but Sakura knew better than to ask what was up with her. Hinata would tell her under her own terms, but if the pink-haired kunoichi dug into it, the other ninja would instantly clam up. Sakura stared at her toes. She felt ashamed to be distracted from Naruto, and his disappearance.

"Me neither." Sakura shuffled her feet.

"Tsunade told me about… about Shino-kun," Hinata finally forced out, and Sakura looked to see her bold gray eyes brimming with tears. The young shinobi's gruesome death would be on the minds of all the ninja for ages, and Sakura was constantly kicking herself for it. "And about other things, as well."

"So you came to find me?" Sakura asked quietly, moving forward again.

"Hai. More or less." Hinata moved forward again, and Sakura noticed that her limp wasn't as noticeable. "I… was wondering if you wanted to train again."

"Train? You mean your leg exercises?" Sakura was confused. Her leg… it was still hurting her, wasn't it?

Hinata shook her head, dark hair fluttering from the movement. "No. Train. Like we did earlier."

Sakura remembered. She remembered leaping through the deep green foliage, the Hyuuga heiress hot on her heels. She remembered the pain as Hinata disabled her chakra points; she remembered blood splattering from Hinata's mouth as her fist landed its score. Both women had nothing against each other; they even considered themselves friends. But they both had a reason to train with all they had, and when they found each other, things were convenient. However, it seemed preposterous now.

"Hinata-san! You're injured!"

"Hai. I'm aware. We won't go as hard as we used to, obviously, but… I have to. Shino was my responsibility, and look where that got me." Sakura opened her mouth to protest, that it wasn't her fault, but Hinata cut her off.

"I was the leader of that team, Sakura. And Shino was part of my group for years. I have to take some blame, whether it was my fault or not."

Sakura could find no answer to that.

"I can't just stand here!" Hinata's uncharacteristically feral voice scared Sakura, enough to make her shrink back a few steps. "I can't stand here with Shino's funeral tomorrow, and I can't go there to pay my respects and tell him I did NOTHING. Even something will do."

Sakura was silent. Her shoulders were shaking, and she was staring down at her shoes. Hinata was so much stronger than she was; she already wanted to do something about Shino while Sakura could do nothing. Nothing!

"Sakura-san?" Hinata's feral voice was gone, and was replaced by something that sounded so meek. Only then did the pink haired girl notice that she was crying. Tears were streaming down Sakura's face, but she made no sound. She bowed her head, her hair hiding her face, but even Hinata could see her shoulders shake.

"Sakura-san."

"Don't touch me!" hissed Sakura as she jumped back as Hinata attempted to embrace her, and Hinata just stared at her with a careful face devoid of emotion. And it was the final straw.

Sakura took off, her fists flying. Hinata's eyes widened in shock, before narrowing again as she took an easy side step. Her palm flashed out, and Sakura managed to duck and fly back into the undergrowth of Konoha's forests.

She didn't want to hurt Hinata by any means, but she had to get this off her chest. She would be careful not to hurt her leg, but she wouldn't hold back any other way. Hinata represented so much more than just a sparring partner. She was Naruto's closest link.

Hinata's palm echoed, and smacked Sakura's arm as the pink haired girl tried to punch her, but a soft popping sound told Hinata she missed her mark. She immediately activated Byakugan as the form of Sakura turned into a log of wood.

Sakura knew that Hinata had seen her immediately, but even the Hyuuga heiress knew better than to run after her, so she waited, just to get herself under control. She shook her head hard, spreading tears through her firm shake of her head. She took off again.

Hinata easily caught the kunai thrown to her, and Sakura saw that her eyes were narrowing from concentration. Sakura would never know the purpose of this. Hinata had to make her see the truth, even if it was out of character for her. All the punches, kunai throws… they would eventually make her see.

Hinata caught her arm this time, and her eyes looked so piercing, so intense, that Sakura froze. She pulled away, panicking, but Hinata called to her. Even she could see Sakura falling apart before her eyes, and a training session wasn't worth losing another one of her friends. This was a mistake. A huge one.

"Stop!"

Sakura turned around, her tears freely flowing. "I can't!"

"Why not?"

Her emotions were building up, up and up. The pool was overflowing; she had nothing left. Her heart was still beating, but it hurt so much that she wondered how it still could. It felt like her entire body was constricting, and suddenly, she felt numb.

"I can't."

Sakura's voice sounded detached, and she sat down on the grassy floor. It was wet, but Sakura could barely feel any of the water.

"I can't. I can't do this."

Hinata was just staring at her, waiting. Sakura didn't speak for a while yet, folding her knees to her chest.

"I'm weak. I get it. I get what Tsunade-sama and Naruto are telling me. I have no control over my emotions, and I miss someone who's good as dead. I don't even know what I feel anymore." She rested her chin in her knees. "I worked so hard to get where I am. I killed Sasori. He was an Akatsuki member! But here I am, sitting on the ground, crying my eyes out over something so silly."

"This is about Naruto-kun being gone, isn't it?" Hinata said quietly.

Sakura looked up.

"I saw you running out of Tsunade's office, crying… and I forced the news out of Tsunade." Hinata looked like she was about to cry herself, and she was shaking so hard that Sakura found it amazing that she wasn't collapsing.

"Why didn't you go after him?" whispered Sakura. "You love him, don't you?"

"I'm useless with this leg." Hinata smiled at her sadly. "Besides, it isn't my task to do."

Sakura straightened. She could feel all the blood drain from her face. 'What do you mean?"

"I love Naruto-kun. Truly I do." Hinata shook her head hard. Now she was crying, but her eyes remained wild with grief and determination "He was tormented when he was little, but he… kept going." She trailed off, and it seemed irrelevant that she would mention this now. Sakura _knew _all of this. What was the point of making them both relive the truth again?

"It isn't me he needs." Hinata straightened, her voice shaking, but at the same time, it was strangely solid. "I want to hate you for it, but I don't. Because ultimately, you're the only one that can make him happy, and you're the only one that can save him now."

It was almost enough to make Sakura go into tears again, but this time, something told her she couldn't. She straightened more, and finally got to her feet. But her eyes never left the intense stare of Hinata's, and she felt her heart pound.

Before Sakura could protest, before she could tell the heiress how wrong she was, Hinata vanished, and Sakura started in surprise. She didn't even have time to move as Hinata's palm hit her arm, and she let out a cry as she disabled many chakra channels. She felt disoriented as she staggered back into a tree.

Sakura looked up to see Hinata's leg hovering above the ground. Hinata's face was twisted in intense pain, but everyone could see the light of determination in her eyes.

"You love him. Both him and Sasuke, don't you? Maybe Naruto-kun more so now."

Sakura stared at her.

"I don't," started Sakura feebly.

"You do, Sakura-san." Now Hinata's labored voice had a thread of sadness. She collapsed onto the ground. "You've been in a depression since shortly before he left, and I'll bet he had something to do with it. And if you ask me, I think you should own up to it, because it isn't going to change."

_-sighs- So tough for both of them._

_Just to clear something up, Hinata attacked Sakura because despite being a shy person, she IS a girl. Our emotions tend to get in the way of rational thought. But if you thought she was outrageously OOC, I apologize, I'll try and change it._

_Next chap is going to be alternating POV's, like chapter 5. Look forward to it. Tahtah.  
_


	10. When Angels Fly Away

He was a boy with paths that all had the same end.

He had heartbreak, a bleak future, and with only one person at his side to keep a promise for the girl he loved. She didn't love him, he was sure, but he just couldn't let go. His sleep was tormented and restless, his times awake a nightmare, and only love could keep him going at this point.

"Naruto?"

Miori's soft whisper aroused him from his deep sleep, and he slowly opened his oceanic blue eyes and the cloudy vision of Miori's lithe form slowly came to focus. She sent a vulnerable smile towards him before looking out onto the horizon. Her knees were drawn to her chest, and her hair flew around her face that was turned away from her body. Standing up, Naruto was even more alarmed that Miori was gasping. Her eyes were wide. Her nostrils flared and her mouth was wide open as she struggled to gain breath.

"Miori-san? Are you okay?"

It was the first time Naruto had added that honorific, and he could tell that Miori had relaxed from it. Her breathing slowly evened out, and Naruto watched with interest as she stood up.

"Hai. I'm a little nervous though." Miori let out a small laugh, and Naruto immediately understood. She had a chance of dying, and her memories may lie unlocked there. It was a lot to deal with. Deep down, Naruto knew it had to be more than that, but he immediately squashed it down.

"Don't be nervous! I'm looking after you!" Naruto pretended to salute, and to his satisfaction, Miori dissolved into giggles. But he could tell she was hysterical, so her emotions weren't exactly in check. He was just as nervous, if not more so. His life was coming to an end and he couldn't stop it, he had left the village he loved, and most of all, Sakura was probably worried sick about him.

She always worried, no matter what was the case. Even if she was selfish, even if she never had her heart in the right place, she always sat on her doorstep or moped a little more than usual when she was worried. It happened a lot when Hinata went away on her mission. It was one of the few moments she let him comfort her. A small smile appeared on his face at the thought, before growing somber once more.

"Come on, Miori." He stuck his hand out to her when she stopped laughing. "We have to face this sooner or later." He grimaced at the thought, but his love and his determination drove him forward to this blockaded path. He would just have to hope it was enough.

"_Sakura-chan… you're going to be okay. He's coming home._

--

She was a girl with paths that shot out in all different directions.

She loved two, and she hated and despised herself for it. She had taken so much away from the boy she loved; she had taken much from her best friend, all for the sake of one she could never have.

"Missing…" she murmured, reaching her hand towards the bulletin board that was put up right outside the Hokage's office.

Text describing Naruto's cheery attitude and bright looks was tacked to the board. It was one Tsunade's many ways of accepting missions. If the mission was declared optional, it was posted on the bulletin board. Only a signature was needed to be accepted, however, the ninja had to be of the Jonin rank. Sasuke was optional too, since they both were declared missing and outside the territory, and few would want to drag them back just so they could face more punishment. Not to mention it was too risky; the only reason why they were even up for grabs was because the number of ninja in the village were booming.

Sakura slid her fingers over the paper, closing her eyes as she visualized Naruto's screaming words in her ear, or his begging, or the countless times she punched him into a tree. It was all they really did, time and time again… and strangely, it was more than enough.

Sakura's black funeral dress swept around her legs as the wind slowly picked up its pace. She lifted her hand to her face to block her short hair, and slowly, she turned around to head to the last resting place of Aburame Shino.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she looked behind her to see familiar dark blue hair and pearl gray eyes, and the similar funeral dress. Hinata fell in stride directly next to her, and Sakura let a faint smile cross her features before it dropped off. Hinata's eyes were glazed, but she didn't cry. Her head was down, and her shoulders were hunched over. Sakura could tell the heiress was hurting just as much, if not more, as she was at the moment.

Their walk was as silent as the day. It was like not even birds would dare to make a sound on this solemn day. The wind rustled the leaves on the trees, but it came sparingly, so the sound was rare and indecisive. Sakura's footsteps slowly came to a halt.

The coffin lay there where the Third Hokage and so many other fallen ninja had been laid to rest. Hinata had stopped directly in her tracks, her eyes wide with tears that had yet to fall.

And finally Sakura could only watch as Hinata broke.

The midnight haired girl slowly sank to her knees, obviously not caring if she got the light brown dirt of Konoha's roads on her obsidian dress. Sakura didn't care much either as she dropped even faster to her knees, and she wrapped her arms around Hinata's back fiercely.

Hinata buried her face into Sakura's shoulder, sobbing with everything she had. Sakura rested her chin on Hinata's head hopelessly.

"It's okay, it's okay…" she whispered, fighting her own tears. She swallowed hard as Hinata continued to cry.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-san," she added, hugging her tighter. "I'm so sorry. For everything."

--

"Naruto-kun! It's this way!"

"Hai!"

It had been a while since he visited the lairs that made up the complexity of Otogakure, and he also knew that there were two different places: one outside the territory, one on the inside. Sasuke could be anywhere.

Leaping through the dungeons reminded him vividly of when Sakura was by his side. She had snuck out of the village herself, one of her few shows of strength. Jiraiya had turned it into an official mission, further helping them out. He sighed. Miori, no offense to her, was a cheap replacement, but she would have to do.

He looked over at her, and was immediately struck about how tired she looked. Deep circles marked underneath her eyes, almost as if it was from violence. Her eyes were dull with what seemed to be… lack of sleep?

"Miori-san? Did you sleep at all last night?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Yeah, just fine. I felt like I ran over Fire Country and back though." Miori looked at him curiously, albeit her eyes looked blank and lackluster. "Why?"

"You look like crap." The words just spilled out, and Miori, even though it obviously took effort whacked him hard on the shoulder.

"You are SUCH a guy, Naruto-kun." She rolled her eyes and sprinted off bit by bit. "I don't have time for this."

Naruto easily caught up with her. "Hey, neither do I. I just care about my partner."

"Flattery gets you nowhere, baka." However, Miori was now smiling. Naruto felt a heave in his chest, and he instantly stopped.

"Oh, Kami," Miori moaned, looking away as Naruto started coughing. "I hate that you have to go through this…"

"Flattery gets me everywhere." Naruto shot a smile towards her after he wiped the blood from his mouth. "You wouldn't be so worried otherwise."

He watched in amused satisfaction as Miori rolled her eyes and stood up. "Who wouldn't be worried about someone coughing up blood?" she grumbled, her chocolate eyes flashing before growing monotonous.

Naruto's own eyes darkened, remembering his rough childhood. How he was alone on the swing, how the kids laughed at him without knowing why, how the parents hid their kids from him, how even Sakura ignored him…

"You'd be surprised," he finally replied dryly, continuing the plunge into Otogakure's lair.

Miori said nothing after that, but Naruto noticed with alarm that her fatigue was growing more and more as she ran through. Her pace was beginning to slacken, and Naruto grabbed her wrist.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Once again, Miori didn't reply.

"Miori-san!"

Miori's knees buckled underneath her. Naruto's arm shot out as he caught her just below the chest, and he became alarmed as her breathing turned labored, into panting. Miori's dead weight was leaning against his lower arm, and she finally looked up.

"Sorry," she croaked. "I don't know what's wrong with me…"

"Maybe we should-" Naruto's eyes widened as he cut himself off, because Miori's eyes were starting to roll back in her head.

They both fell to the floor, and Miori began to scream. It was full-throated, loud, but Naruto wasn't even concerned with getting caught. The girl in his arms began to writhe, screaming and her eyes white rimmed with a wild source of feeling.

Naruto was hardly even aware of footsteps littering the silence of the hallway; he was only focused on Miori. He tightened his grip on her, but her body was out of control now, sizing up as if she was in terrible pain.

When he finally noticed, it was too late.

The dark hideout was splashed with blood, and the wailing screams of Miori were cut off with sounds of tearing flesh and splintering bone.

--

Sakura laid her crimson rose on the casket, sighing softly. She took a step back, allowing Hinata to do the same.

The Hyuuga's eyes were still bloodshot from crying, but she followed suit. The funeral was a closed casket, since Shino was in no shape to be viewed by the village. Sakura was glad, because she doubted Hinata would be able to handle it. She already had to live with a fair amount of his gruesome death; it would be inhumane to make her see the results.

They stood with the rest of the village, and Sakura could hear Hinata's choked up breathing as they lowered the coffin into the ground. The sun was shining almost inappropriately. But now, all of the village was somber, for someone so young with so much potential… they'd never see him walk the roads again. None of his collared jacket, his sunglasses hiding all of his facial expressions, or the bugs that made Shino himself. Sakura swallowed hard, it was all too easy to imagine that Hinata could have been in another casket, being buried along with him. Or Chouji. He was going to be okay; he had awoken from his coma, but it was too easy to imagine him in the coffin as well.

The funeral was over, and the crowd was beginning to disperse. Sakura offered her hand to Hinata, and the kunoichi smiled weakly before taking the hand. Sakura slowly lead her off, into the woods.

"I think we should go for a walk," Sakura suggested, gesturing to the trail that marked the middle of the forest. Hinata nodded, and began to limp forward. Sakura easily matched her pace, and she decided it wouldn't be very long. Hinata was still hurt, but the two would need to clear their heads.

They never said one word, but their silence spoke volumes as they continued on. Sakura's eyes closed, letting her instincts lead her through the woods. Hinata's slow footsteps were her guide to how fast she could walk, and her feet turned whenever the road did. This was her home, this was her life.

But it wasn't complete.

However, the wilderness made her feel alive. The chirping of birds was louder here, and she occasionally fluttered her eyes to see deer, or even the occasional squirrel. Her stomach clenched when she saw the crawling of ants, because that reminded her of Shino. Her eyes softly rested closed again, letting her other four senses take over.

Slowly her eyes opened again as the forest cleared into the village they called home. It was empty, since the village's citizens had just begun to come to their houses. Sakura took a deep breath, and Hinata stood with her as they overlooked the somber people. The sun had already set, and the signs of a few stars have already appeared. Hinata's closed eyes told Sakura that she relished the coolness of the night, and Sakura closed her eyes briefly to soak in the cold. It felt so good.

"They're still out there. The ones that attacked us and killed Shino." Hinata turned and looked at Sakura intently.

"Hai. They are." Sakura didn't have to ask what Hinata meant. They were all in grave danger, but not as much as the ninja that were out there now. "Naruto's out there, too. I know."

"So what do we do?" Hinata sounded desperate, and the sound seared into Sakura's heart. She had to swallow hard to stop her voice from cracking. She felt so weak. She couldn't even help her best friend. But… maybe she could. Determination was starting to shake up her systems, like soda, and it was only a matter of time before it exploded. And that's just what she needed at the time.

"I don't know," she whispered, her shoulders trembling with all the stress, all the weakness. Sakura wasn't sure of anything. Not anymore. "I just… don't know."

Hinata looked like she was in agony, but she nodded helplessly. As she had pointed out, it wasn't her task to do and she wasn't in any shape to go anywhere. Sakura had some thinking to do, just like she had been doing, but she needed to go in the right direction. Beating herself up wasn't fixing anything.

"Let's get you home." Sakura finally broke the silence. "You need to get to sleep. You won't be in any shape to do anything if you keep this up. Neither Naruto nor Shino would want to see you like this."

Hinata looked like she wanted to protest, but she obviously didn't have the strength to argue. The pearl-eyed girl let Sakura take her by the wrist and begin to lead her home. Sakura's own thoughts were in turmoil, but they were growing clearer and clearer. With Hinata in so much trouble, and with Naruto needing the one he truly loved, her heart was still bruised and bleeding, but her mind was finally strong.

When she dropStoriesped off Hinata, she clenched her fists and held her head high. The door closing behind her was like a gong going off from behind her, and she immediately started walking.

"_I'm not afraid anymore."_

Sakura stopped by the bulletin board, the same as the one she visited earlier. She let the wind sweep across her legs again, and let it lift her dress. Slowly, she ripped the paper from the board and headed home.

The day after Shino's funeral, Tsunade finally panicked, and got so angry she threw a chair across the room. Luckily, Sakura wasn't there to see it. But Tsunade nearly drowned herself in sake when she finally slid into the office, because lying on her desk was the missing ninja mission statement with a description of Naruto, and at the bottom was Sakura's hastily scrawled signature.

--

_About time she did something, eh?_

_If you guys are wondering why I'm updating fast, it's because it's summer. I now have a life. It's amazing. I'm now having the time of my life, and I have time to do shit. It's fantastically awesome._

_And by the way, about Naruto's side of the story. I don't like giving things away, but since I hate giving my readers a heart attack even more, I'm just going to say this: No one's dead yet. ;)_

_Other than that, tahtah._


	11. Where the Storm Finally Strikes

"_Naruto!"_

He couldn't tell if it was a voice outside, if it was the Kyuubi, or if he was being a delusional little freak again and he was imagining it. He tried to move his fingers and a fiery pain shot up his body. A familiar pain, yes, but it was entirely unwelcome. He stifled a groan. Even he knew to be quiet in times like this. He cracked open an eyelid, and he noticed a few of his fingers were swelled, possibly broken. However, the Kyuubi's healing powers were already targeting the areas; they'd probably be as good as new in a few minutes.

"_That's ironic," _thought Naruto bitterly, briefly closing his eyes before opening them. _"The Kyuubi and my stress are combining to attack my internal organs, but he sure as hell can heal a few broken fingers."_

Naruto glanced over to the side, and his eyes finally flashed wide open as he saw smears of red across the walls. It was like a painter had a very bad day, and even a few droplets were splattered here and there. There was so much that it couldn't possibly be all his, and he paled. It was drying, clotting, and it was a deep copper color, so it was obvious it was a few days old. He tilted his head side to side, trying to clear the fuzziness in his brain. His eyes hurt. Maybe they were blackened?

Now he was aware that his left cheek was swollen; it certainly had been punched or another sort of trauma was affecting him. He slightly opened his mouth and flinched at the pain that had greeted him when he did so. The muscles in his jaw were sore; someone had fun beating the snot out of him.

Naruto squirmed a little. He winced as his sides seemed to rip, and he looked down. His jacket was badly frayed and torn, along with his black t-shirt underneath, and long scabs marked his sides. They were healing just as fast, in fact, the process was almost done. The blonde sighed in relief. He would be able to fight his way out of here properly, with no delay. But there was one problem…

The young ninja had heard no noises other than his own breathing and the sounds of his struggles. That wasn't right, because his companion should be right near him. He looked around. No Miori. He felt panic start to mount up in his systems. They have been attacked… obviously! But where did she go? Was she kidnapped… or worse? Naruto didn't want to think about it. Miori had been a valuable friendship, and while she was no Sakura, she was someone of significance in his life, whether he meant her to be or not.

Naruto straightened up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The voice was right, whoever he was, Naruto realized. A searing shot of agony wracked through his chest, and blood was spurting out of his mouth at a rate that he had never experienced before. He leaned back, and luckily, a wall caught him. He had to catch his breath before he could even speak, but he made sure he recovered quickly so he could speak as soon as possible.

"Who… are you? Where's Miori?" heaved Naruto. It was a bad idea, because soon he was gasping and panting for even more breath. He should have waited longer, but he was too frustrated and too worried to breathe properly anyway.

"Tsk, tsk, Naruto-kun. Have you no manners?"

Naruto finally looked up with dull, tired blue eyes, but they flashed wide open as he saw the familiar glint of glass, and the ninja's trademark of pushing his glasses down to stare out with his evil eyes. It mocked him: It was all of what Naruto stood against, and he was once _foolish _enough to fall for that trick back when he was young.

"You," Naruto spat out. "Figures. What did you do to her?"

Kabuto let out a small chuckle, and took a step, one step that brought him out of the shadows and into full light. It was quiet but it had the force of an explosion, taking Naruto by surprise before he threw up his defensive walls. "My, my. Such vagueness. Whatever do you mean?" By his cruel and mocking tone, Naruto could tell that Kabuto knew damn well who he was talking about.

"Who do you think, you damned asshole?!" Naruto roared, and this time he ignored the need to cough. "Miori!"

"Oh yes, the girl? Mmm… it's of no importance."

Naruto spat the red crimson that threatened to fill his throat to the side. He watched as it hit the drying blood that already existed on the floor; it must have dripped down from the walls. Kabuto never understood his empathy and worries for his friends. He always thought it was about him, nothing and no one else. "No, I think she's pretty high up there on the importance scale. Baka. You just never will get it, do you?"

"I understand more than you at this point." Kabuto's smiled in the dark and it sent shivers down the blonde ninja's spine. "But you are correct, I spoke too soon. You must realize it's a knee-jerk reaction of mine, I apologize. The girl is of extraordinary importance… just not in the way you might think."

Naruto's stomach dropped. Black, spiraling feelings of dread and fear started to sink down in his abdomen. The last time he had a bad feeling like this, Sasuke had left the village and Sakura finally fell apart. Remembering this, he shot up his defenses and his eyes darkened. He remembered. Miori had said it herself, when they were headed to the village. Why didn't he say something before? And her wailing screams, they almost were like… an alarm?

"I'm a ninja. Since when are things the way I think?" he said dryly, sitting himself up against the wall. He ignored the bile and blood that rose in his throat from the movement, and the pain that followed. The raw feeling of betrayal was the main feeling in his heart. _"Did she know all along?"_

It was like Kabuto read his mind. His smile grew wider, and the bile in Naruto's throat rose at the very sight. He narrowed his eyes, determined to look like the bigger person. He straightened even further, and he squared his shoulders. The two stared at each other for a long time.

"A little paranoid, don't you think?" Kabuto said at last, breaking the link their gazes made. "Miori was telling the truth, I assure you of that. She has no idea who she is or where she came from."

"But she is linked to your sick village, isn't she?" Naruto shot back, the relief immediately squashed down by dread and fear. "Isn't she? She said herself that Otogakure rang a bell."

"Correct. Do you remember when that Hyuuga brat and her team left the village?" Kabuto turned his back towards Naruto, and walked off. Naruto squinted his eyes, but he couldn't see very far in the darkness. He nearly jumped a mile when Kabuto spoke up again.

"That was fun. At least, watching it was."

Naruto's heart leapt. He wasn't so stupid that he couldn't understand Kabuto's implications. "You sick asshole!" he shouted loudly, only to be interrupted by a spurt of blood. He impatiently spat on the floor again and wiped his mouth. "What did you do to them?"

"I didn't do anything. I was just along for the ride." He heard shuffling movement in the back, and Naruto finally realized he was gaining his strength back. The bones in his fingers had begun to mend, and his sides were healing.

"_Just a few minutes… stall for another few minutes…"_

"Because you were too scared to go up against them yourself?" Naruto snarled. It took all of his energy to let himself rest, to finally regain enough energy to _maim _Kabuto with every inch of his being. Sasuke had finally vanished from his mind. It could have been easily Sakura out there, and Hinata was like his sister. If he killed her…

"Guess I can't blame you." Naruto ignored his negative thoughts. He had to buy more time, make Kabuto pay for whatever he did to them. "Hinata's a hellcat when you mess with her friends. Kiba and Lee aren't much fun either, especially with Akamaru. Not to mention Shino, Tenten and Chouji are just a pain to fight." Now it was his turn to be mocking, and Kabuto obviously didn't take well to that.

Naruto wasn't surprised when a kunai was shoving its place in his throat, and he didn't even flinch when he felt a few droplets run down his skin. Kabuto was quiet, but Naruto could feel the raw fury coming out in pulses from the older ninja. Naruto forced his breathing to be sickeningly calm, just to mock Kabuto even further. It was working, for Kabuto's inhales were ragged and choppy.

"Shino is _dead._" Kabuto growled into his ear, finally releasing him. "Hinata nearly died. She totally shattered her leg and was practically beaten to death. Chouji was in a coma last time I checked, and the rest have suffered injuries as well. Don't go shooting your mouth off unless you know what you're talking about."

Naruto felt his stomach plummet down. Shino… dead? Hearing about Hinata in itself was enough to make his blood boil, but the others…one dead and the others so badly injured? His rage built and built until it exploded over the edges of its constraints, like one extra drop in an already full bucket.

"What did they ever do to you?!" he screamed, feeling like his vocal cords would burst from the sheer power, the force. "Why?!" Hinata was as good as his sister, one of the few people who understood him. She didn't deserve Shino being taken away from her, and she sure as hell didn't deserve bearing that responsibility of him dying and others injured under her command. Naruto's rage was boundless now, and his fists were clenching despite the physical protests his hands were giving him.

"Simple. They got in the way of the experiment."

That answer wasn't expected. Naruto's mouth chewed on thin air, a fish out of water.

"What experiment? How could you do something like that? They were _scouting, _for Kami's sake! How could they possibly get in the way?"

"Scouting is to find out information. I had to stop them before they figured anything out… and of course, Shino was a perfect candidate for it."

Naruto felt more and more squeamish at the thought of Kabuto playing with Hinata and her team like toys. He felt even sicker at the thought that Sakura was considering going with them. If she had, she might have died. He knew Kabuto had an interest in her strength and healing abilities.

"What have you done?" Naruto whispered.

Kabuto flicked on the lights.

Naruto could only stare as capsules lit up in the room. They all had blue-green liquid pulsing in and out of them, but the flow was so slow it couldn't possibly be working. But that wasn't what he was staring at.

Cords from each container all ran into one machine, and the machine was off. But in each one of those capsules, was a humanoid shape with several different colors of hair flowing in the thick liquid, each strand separating. They were all naked, with knees drawn to their chests and heads nestled into their knees. Their pale, seemingly porcelain skin was almost glowing. Some were male, some were female, but something was off…

"They're all dead, of course. They're all failed experiments." Kabuto gazed at each one, resting his hand on a black haired female's capsule. It was hard to believe one with such beauty was dead. Naruto barely felt himself standing up.

"What-"

"Ever since Orochimaru died, you know, Sasuke took him over, I've been out here, trying to find something that can actually beat him." He laughed without mirth, and bitterness seeped into his tone. "It won't happen anytime soon, of course, but now that we actually had a success… it's a start. We just have to keep that success alive."

Naruto lost all patience. "What. Are. You. Talking. About?"

If Kabuto had heard him, he didn't acknowledge it. "Our experiment steals internal organs, since each ninja is different. In Shino's case, it was his heart, brain, and lungs that were crucial. Chakra waves go to those points, and that's what controlled his bugs." Kabuto straightened, smirking widely.

"I found a way to convert these organs into pure, solid chakra. Chakra that can be fed into those pipes…" He gestured towards the multiple tubes leading to the machine, "and dispersed around these failed experiments. Of course, each experiment was created by chakra."

Naruto stared out in horrified fascination. It was disgusting, sick, twisted. How many people had Kabuto killed for this cause?

"Shino was the third for this, but the first ninja." Kabuto seemed to have read his mind. "The other two were just common villagers, for the sake of chakra I couldn't give."

"Their life chakra," Naruto said, growing more and more alarmed every second. "So they could come to life!"

"You've grown smarter since I've last seen you, Naruto-kun. Yes, exactly that. However… converting life chakra into a new soul is highly unstable and very dangerous." Kabuto moved and placed his hand on the capsule of a red-head male this time, almost affectionately. Naruto was forced to swallow back more bile.

"But of course… we recycled that life chakra into our success, so we wouldn't have to waste… you see, Naruto-kun, I'm not killing more than I have to. That's why all these," he knocked on the glass- "are still here, instead of being disposed of. And now… my weapon can truly come to life."

It was like a lightbulb going off. "I'm your next victim," Naruto whispered in realization. "You're after the nine-tailed fox!"

"Nothing personal, Naruto-kun. You will die anyway, what's the harm in making your life a little shorter?" He snapped his fingers.

A shape appeared in the darkness, and this time, Naruto was going to be sick. He threw up right then and there, on the side, with speckles of blood. He wiped his mouth and staggered to his feet, his eyes wide and staring.

A girl stood there, her eyes blank and desolate. Dark hair fell around her shoulders, and Naruto felt increasing dread.

"She has two personalities, and each can be temporarily turned off. One is so she can learn basic skills and interact and fool others, while the other… is a killing machine," hissed Kabuto, his eyes dark and laughing, with cruel mockery.

"No…" Naruto whispered.

"Yes," hissed Kabuto, his word filled with glee. "Kill him."

Bugs flew out in all different directions, but this time, with a different master. She lifted her hands, and all Naruto could do was jump up and out of the way. But he couldn't feel anger, or even hate. His shoulders slouched, and for now, all he could do was fight. He didn't want to, but he had to.

The only emotion he could feel was pity as Miori's eyes flashed, not with emotion, but the fiery desire to kill as her bugs swept in for the target.

--

_I know it took me two weeks to write this, but as you can tell, this chapter was extremely hard for me to write. Obviously Miori has become a bigger part in this story than I previously planned, but hey. I try._

_And to that certain reviewer who told me that chapter 5 would be the hardest for me to write… I proved you wrong with this baby. :O But I love you anyway. ;) You have skill in making me feel special, so I appreciate it._

_Review, people! I LIKE to know how I'm doing. :P_


	12. Breathe

The guards were shouting after her as she bolted through the gates without so much as a by-your-leave. But the kunoichi saw no reason to stop, and she didn't care if they went after her. They wouldn't stop her. For the first time, she was truly smiling; in fact, she felt she could have laughed from all the elation. She was free. She knew what she had to do, and it finally gave her heart wings.

Sakura ran through the undergrowth, leaves crunching and twigs breaking with a few steps. Even if Naruto's path ended in tragedy, she knew that she didn't sit in the sidelines. If she gave it all she got, she would be satisfied. Not happy, but satisfied. But she would do anything in her power, just to get him back home. Even to score a few more weeks… that would be enough. Long enough to make up for her stupidity.

Her rapid footsteps took her closer and closer to the borderline, but she didn't even have to worry about being named a missing ninja. Tsunade made the dumb mistake of making the mission open, and now she would have to pay for it. Sakura smile turned grim for a second, before she brightened again. She hated going behind Tsunade's back, but for once, just once, she wanted Naruto to see that what he did to her… he changed her. Something she thought would never happen; something that she didn't even think was possible.

But at the borderline that separated Konoha from the outside world, she stopped. Her feet rested on the invisible mark, and the fair-skinned ninja lifted her head to the sun peeking through the treetops, her eyes closed. After this, it was the point of no return.

But she wasn't hesitating because of doubt. She only hesitated because she knew that this very well might be the last time she saw Konoha. That, or she wouldn't see it for a very, very long time.

Sakura felt the sun wash itself over her face, and she looked down to relish the coolness of the forest. This was her home, but without Naruto… it wasn't right. It couldn't be right. Not now, not ever.

She took one step over the line.

"Sakura-san!"

Being used to the peace, Sakura practically jumped a mile from the sudden, unexpected voice voice, and she whirled around. She knew the voice all too well, from the past few days. "Hinata! What are you doing here?"

"You're doing something stupid!" Hinata limped towards her, her eyes blazing with fear and fury. "This isn't an official mission; you could get in a lot of trouble for doing this! I was hoping you would talk it over with Tsunade-sama, not-"

"Not grab the flyer from the mission board, signing it, and leave it in plain view on Tsunade-sama's desk?" Sakura cut Hinata's rant off easily with that light-hearted statement, and Hinata looked taken aback.

"This… is a mission?"

"Hai."

Hinata blinked, before her tense features abruptly relaxed. "Oh. I guess I just came out here for nothing, huh?"

"Mmm… I wouldn't say that." Sakura scratched the back of her head, laughing slightly. "It's nice seeing you. Before I have to go, I mean. Speaking of which…" Sakura nervously craned her neck towards the village, where a loud crunching noise and splintering of wood sounded. "I gotta go."

"Tsunade-sama just figured out you're leaving, correct?" Hinata asked, and Sakura was startled by the remarkable calm in her voice.

"Hai." Sakura matched her tone after a second.

"She's going to try and stop you?"

"Most likely."

"Want me to distract her and hold her off?"

"That would be fantastic." Sakura shot her a grateful look. "I'm heading out now."

"Okay." Hinata seemed to hesitate. "Sakura…"

Sakura looked at her, their blazing eyes were similar even though the color was different.

"Just bring him back!" she blurted out. Her eyes narrowed, and her orbs sparkled fiercely. "Whatever you do… just bring him back to us. You have to get him back!"

The old Sakura would have responded with an "I'll try." She would have doubted herself, would have thought about going back, and most of all, she would be terrified of Tsunade's wrath when she got back.

No more.

"I will, I promise!" Sakura took off over the line. She ran as fast as she could, so she could barely hear Hinata's persuasive action to keep Tsunade where she was. Maybe she pretended to get hurt, or start crying, or just talk to the Hokage. She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't care. She had a mission to complete, and she had to move before it was too late.

She had a promise to keep. Her world to fetch. And finally, she found the right path that lay in front of her this whole time.

She was just too blind to see it.

Sakura's eyes went a deadly narrow as she scanned the forest that still remained. There was blood stains, here and there… she could smell it. Snapped twigs, crunched leaves, dusty footprints… they were all fairly recent, a few days old. However, some of the stains were even older, suggesting a few weeks. It matched up with Naruto leaving.

She couldn't afford to halt, because Tsunade may have been rash enough to cross the line to look for her. She wouldn't go far, her village needed her, but a short distance? Certainly she would.

The blood was old. She could tell by the rich, almost brown color, and how it was clotting and drying. Sakura stared at the stains as she flew by.

"Well, that isn't good," she finally murmured to herself. Somehow, speaking out loud gave her some sort of confirmation that the spots of mahogany were truly there. She couldn't let herself be distracted, but she had a bad, bad feeling about this.

"Naruto…" she whispered.

Once she could afford it, her frantic footsteps slowed to a halt. She took a good look at the blood, and the footsteps, and smashed leaves and twigs. If she was smart about it, she could tell which direction precisely he went.

Her brows scrunched together from concentration, Sakura finally calculated where to go: northeast. She scaled a tree, and took off again. She needed to see exactly where Naruto had went, because if something had happened to him… she needed to find out what, and how to attack the problem. Even if it was something she'd rather not think about.

She shook her head hard. _"You are a medic," _she growled to herself. _"Stop being a weakling and start thinking like who you are!"_

She followed the imperceptible path her mind told her to stick to, looking down now and then to see if the spots of blood or other markings were there. Occasionally, she had to turn back and see if the path veered off, and sometimes, it did. Mostly it was straight forward, but Naruto was always one to follow openings, and never go through something that required slightly more energy than usual. She smiled ruefully.

However, she saw something out of the norm. It was obvious Naruto was running around in circles a lot of it, which explained why she had gotten as far as she did in a day. He always lost his way, even if he claimed he knew where he was going… But there was something different. She slammed to a stiff-legged halt and lurched forwards. The leaves were sprawled out, and there were concussions in the earth. The leaves were sprawled out, dragging, and then finally, the footprints stopped. Sakura felt like her heart was going to break from all the pressure. She kept moving. She wouldn't give up until she found him, dead or alive.

A little bit later, the footprints picked up again, but this time, they were smaller. Sakura curiously followed them. She had no way of telling how fast this person was going, but maybe…

She picked her way through the woods, cautiously making sure not to tread on the prints. She was no expert at tracking, not like Neji or Hinata, but maybe, with a little luck, she could find something.

And she did.

Sakura halted when she saw a small, but clearly Japanese styled house. She snuck towards it, not knowing if there was an enemy in sight or what. Her senses told her no one was there, but she couldn't be too careful.

She was growing more and more nervous, but her heart leapt when she saw more prints. This time there was two pairs of feet, and one of them matched Naruto's size. Sakura could have shouted her relief. He was still alive, and there was someone with him.

"Hold on," she muttered, taking off in the direction.

--

"_Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaan!"_

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" _her mind exploded, and she spun around on her heel. She didn't even think about it; her fist slammed into Naruto's head and he flew out into the trees for the umpteenth time._

"_Naruto, if I've told you once, I've told you a _thousand _times! Don't. Sneak. Up. On. Me!" she roared after his flying body, and she ran after him._

"_Ow!" The thudding noise was her satisfaction. "Sakura-chan, is there really a reason to beat the snot out of me just because I scared you!"_

_The pink haired girl put her hands on her hips, glaring at the blonde heap at her feet. "I was not scared!"_

"_Okay, fine!" Naruto jumped to his feet. This time, he looked a little mad. Sakura was barely fazed by it; it didn't compare to her fury. "Frightened. Taken aback. Startled. I don't really care, but I don't want a concussion JUST because I sneak up on you like everyone else in the village!" His blue eyes were flashing, but Sakura's mouth dropped open._

"_Who do you think you are?!" screamed Sakura, taking several steps forward. Even though she was a little shorter than Naruto was, she still had presence. Naruto had the spine not to move, but she still intimidated him, she could tell. "You are the only one-"_

"_Rock Lee. He sneaks up on you all the time." Naruto immediately straightened his back and made himself look taller. "HI, Sakura-chan!" He mimicked Lee's voice perfectly. "Need me to do anything? Grocery shopping? Picking up your cat? Run laps so you can be dazzled by my ninja prowess?"_

_Sakura was already giggling._

"_Neji. Kami, he pisses me off," Naruto went on as if there was no interruption. "He just comes behind you and either pushes you out of the way or shouts at you to keep the train rolling." Naruto rolled his eyes. "And don't say he hasn't done it to you. I've SEEN you."_

_Sakura's eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms, but her face was playful. It was only Naruto who could do something so stupid, but yet she couldn't even stay mad at him for five minutes. "Stalking me, huh?" she teased, smacking his shoulder lightly._

_Naruto pretended to frown at her. "You know, that is so not the point. Nor is it the part of the conversation."_

_Sakura poked him in the chest. "Then what, pray tell, is part of the conversation?"_

_Naruto's face changed. His eyes slowly dimmed, and his smile seemed to drop off his face. "Sasuke snuck up on you," he muttered, leaning back into the tree._

_All the blood drained out of her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but he continued._

"_He's like Neji, I guess. Thinks he's more important than anyone else in his path…"_

"_That's not true!" Sakura cut him off. She leaned toward him, her eyes flashing in rage. "He's so much nobler than that! He was quiet, at least, and it was kinda cute really…"_

_Naruto interrupted. "Sakura-chan, it wasn't like that and you know it." He crossed his arms, walking away. "We don't fit your cookie cutter life, Sakura-chan. And I'd really wish you'd stop trying to rewrite us into a fairytale."_

_--_

"_You were right, you know."_

Sakura bolted into the clearing, where Otogakure stood. Inside the den, the footprints ended. But her trail was just beginning.

She was done fantasizing about her old life with Sasuke. He wasn't coming back. But Naruto… she wanted him back into her life, obnoxious, loud, and laughing.

--

_Slow? Yes. Sucky? Absolutely. Sorry, don't gut me._

_I can probably get the next chap to you really soon. I'm leaving on vacation for ten days to see my best friend for the first time in a year. (YESSSSSSS!!) Soooo if you guys REALLY want me to I suppose I can get a chapter to you before I go?_

_Just kidding, I will. No matter how much you guys hate me for this chap. ;D_


	13. Point in Time

He closed his eyes.

He could barely see worth a darn down here anyway, even though Kabuto was turning on more lights. The bugs made enough racket on their own, and secretly, he thought that if he closed his eyes, Sakura's face could make him stronger. Strong enough to end Miori's misery and hold Kabuto off, even just for a little bit.

He was right.

The Sakura in his mind was screaming at him to move, and he jumped far to the right as bugs flew straight towards the area he was standing. If he knew anything about Shino's moves, they were two things: The bugs ALWAYS know where he's at, and they follow smells. He wasn't one for long range anyway, but his short range attacks would work fine for this purpose.

So he had to fight through and get to Miori the hard way.

She was just standing there, her eyes heartless and her face desolate, and it nearly broke Naruto's heart just to see the usually cheerful girl like that. He should have seen all the warning signs… her memory stirring…

--

"_So… where are we going again?" He could see her eyebrows furrow._

"_Otogakure. It's where my old best friend is. I have a few things to do there. Why?"_

_He watched her nod slowly. "Otogakure…" she murmured at last. "It rings a bell…"_

_--_

Naruto jumped again, this time closer to the girl. His eyes flashed open. Her own eyes were cloudy and faceless, and it convinced him: Miori was no longer herself. As Kabuto had said, each of her personalities could be turned off. And her old self was no longer here.

He groaned, for he never had to face something as horrible as this. It was different with Sasuke; he could still see the emotion in his black eyes as he tried to bring him home. Even with Gaara he could see some sort of emotion, not just bloodlust, but a sense of loss and self-hatred. With Miori, it was so much worse. Her emotions were mercilessly turned off, and his pity increased.

It was so stupid, because he knew that pity would be the last thing she wanted.

--

"_Naruto?"_

_He sat up to see Miori's knees drawn up to her chest, and her hair in wisps away from her face. Her eyes were wide, her nostrils flared, and her mouth was wide open as she struggled for breath._

"_Miori-san? Are you okay?"_

_--_

Miori let out a muted growl, and Naruto only hesitated for a fraction of a second before acting. He jumped back, and Miori's eyes narrowed. She had never fought him before, and even her cold, calculating mind had to be confused. She had obviously expected him to just attack her, not jump back again.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly, copies among copies of him appeared around the girl. He smiled tightly. The bugs couldn't smell him out. It worked once, it'll work again.

It was Miori's turn to hesitate, controlled surprise crossing over her face. She stepped back with uncertainty.

"Just attack all the clones!" Kabuto screeched for the first time during the fight. "You'll hit the real one eventually!" Naruto leaped back. He had almost forgot that he was even there in the first place. It was just him and Miori, like the few days before, but this time with so much more regrets, hatred, pity, and most of all…

The feeling of loss.

--

"_Miori-san!"_

_Naruto reached forward with his arm as fast as he could as Miori fell, and he caught her below the chest. He could only watch with horror and fear as the girl's breathing grew more and more choppy._

"_Sorry… I don't know what's wrong with me…"_

"_Maybe we should-"_

_They slumped to the floor, and Miori's eyes rolled back into her head. Naruto opened his mouth to say her name, but it never came out._

_She screamed._

_--_

He should have never taken her here. She could have lived a normal life.

His heart swelled with bitterness and regret as clone by clone disappeared, but they were not going down with a fight. Bugs upon bugs fell to the ground, some dead, some twitching from death that was near. Miori had a cut from her cheek, obviously from a punch, for there was some bruising surrounding it. Naruto threw himself into the fray, and he ordered three clones to dodge more than hit. He had to win this fight. For her sake, not for his or the fox's.

"Miori!" Kabuto roared. "You can do better than that! _Get moving!_"

A growl escaped Miori's mouth, and she plunged her fist into a clone. She wasn't kidding when she said she was fast, Naruto realized. She was almost as fast as Neji and Hinata. She was no Rock Lee, that was for sure, but with her bugs, the speed she had was more than enough. Her hair flew in familiar black wisps as she spun, and Naruto caught a fleeting glance of her eyes; they were black with the only emotion she was allowed to feel: bloodlust.

Naruto leaped out of the way of Miori's sweep kick, and neatly dodged her barrage of punches that followed. If he got hit, that would reveal him an instant. Instead, he whipped to one side to avoid her next attack, and to be replaced by another dodging clone. Then he got his first hit in: he kicked her in the back.

Miori let out a scream, and for an instant it reminded Naruto of the old Miori. When she rose her head, Naruto saw that her eyes briefly flickered between colors, like a fading hologram. For an instant, he saw her eyes turn from black to light brown.

But then her fist was pounding into his chest.

The clones instantly disappeared, and Miori let out a cry in triumph. She punched him in the face, and he went sprawling onto the floor. He immediately lifted his hands.

He was halted by blood splattering from his mouth, and Miori had a kunai out. In an instant, she threw it at him. Naruto rolled to the side, barely escaping. However, the bugs were on the move…

"_Poison!" _

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clones halted the bugs' attacks, but how long could this last? However, without the bugs, how could Miori…?

"There's no way Miori could have taken that team by herself!" he shouted. His other clones cried the same thing to confuse the rogue kunoichi in front of him, and it worked well. "Not without the bugs. Her skills aren't that advanced."

"You're right. She had some help." Kabuto's cool voice washed over the room. "I had some ninja to help with the attack. However, you'll have some satisfaction that they were all killed. You're right, Hinata is a hellcat. She got most of them. Miori here is the only survivor. I had to kill Shino myself, but he was already dying anyway."

Kabuto was right about one thing: that made him feel a lot better. He cringed at the information about Shino, but the fact that Hinata didn't go down without a fight… he just had to know if she and the others were still alive.

However, he had a fight at hand. He jumped amongst the clones, stealing attacks whenever he could. However, clones were disappearing every second from effects of the bugs' poison, and he was rapidly losing chakra. It was only a matter of time now.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"I have to hand it to you, Naruto!" Kabuto's mocking laughter filled the room. "You're still the stubborn baka I knew a few years ago! Kudos to you. Too bad it won't last that long."

"In your dreams it won't!" Naruto snarled, bouncing back. Promptly his clones disappeared, and Miori paused, her usual monotonous face clouding slightly with confusion.

Instead of heading towards Miori, Naruto whipped back. There was no way Kabuto could have seen it coming, which explained why he was still as Naruto kicked his chest with everything he had.

Kabuto stumbled over backwards, and he summoned two clones. The familiar blue, swirling ball appeared in his hand, and the clones were scratching at it, forming it.

"Rasengan!" he bellowed, and he was running.

Miori's eyes widened as it hit her with strength she probably never felt in her life. The bugs provided cushion to take away the fatality of the blow, but she still flew back and hit a wall, slumping down it. He turned slightly to finish off Kabuto, but something stopped him. Blood was marking the floor where she landed. But already she was on her feet, her head down. However, her bugs were dormant, and she didn't move.

Naruto hesitated. "Miori-san?"

She lifted her head.

Naruto exhaled heavily, his eyes softening. "Miori-san."

Her eyes shifted from black to their warm dark brown color, and she was gasping. However, her features were alive with color, warmth, and feeling. She looked scared, and Naruto was running towards her.

"Naruto?" Her disbelief was almost comical, childlike. She straightened slightly as she blinked frantically. Naruto stopped in front of her, taking her in. The cut on her cheek and her black eye protested that she was a monster, but her emotions… they were all there. Her wide, blinking eyes that tried to figure out what happened, her cheeks rosy like they used to be, and her jaw slack with bewilderment and fear. He all but crushed her in a hug.

"What happened to me?" Miori looked up at him, her eyes bright with fear and pain. "Naruto, I hurt all over…"

"I know." Naruto couldn't bring himself to tell her.

She pushed him away, just a little, to inspect him. Her eyes dimmed as she scanned his injuries, and Naruto's heart sank. She raised her hand to her mouth to hold back a sob, but tears were already spilling over.

"What happened to you?" Miori asked quickly, but her voice told him she already knew the answer. Naruto shook his head, not wanting to say. She didn't deserve it… she didn't deserve any of this.

"Naruto, tell me!" Naruto let her go, stepping back. He looked to the side. He couldn't bear to look at Miori's desperate face. He heard the brown-eyed girl let out a shuddering breath.

"Please tell me." Miori's voice was desperate, as if she wanted him to tell her what she thought wasn't true. But it was, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt like he would start crying from it himself. Finally, he looked back at her, and her shoulders were slumped.

"I did this, didn't I?" she whispered.

Naruto paused. Before long, he nodded jerkily. Tears were silently pouring down her cheeks. "It was Kabuto… if it wasn't for him, you would have led a normal life…"

Miori opened her mouth to speak, but nothing ever came out. She grabbed her head and immediately fell to the floor, moaning and shrieking.

"Miori-san!" But he didn't need to say anything. She was disappearing again. He spun around, and saw Kabuto staring at her in fierce concentration. He started toward him, but Miori let out a dull cry.

When the black-haired girl looked up, Naruto already knew she was gone.

Bugs immediately flew out, and Naruto fell to the floor as they covered his flesh. He tried to fight them off, but it was no use. He felt the crippling effects already. But when he looked up, he saw Miori falling as well. The Rasengan was having its effect. She crumpled to the ground, and his bugs fell off of him.

It was too late.

Naruto couldn't move. His eyes were closing, and he could tell the power of the fox was frantically trying to remove the poison from his system, but he didn't care if he died. He had accepted death long ago.

He slightly opened his eyes to see that Kabuto was kneeling over Miori, placing his hand on her neck and obviously giving her some chakra to help replenish her. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw her cuts healing, and the blood mass on her chest.

"_He is a medic nin, after all…"_

Of course, he was instantly reminded of Sakura because of those words. Her smiling face was stuck in his mind. She had grown so strong… physically. But emotionally, she was still a mess, but she still walked forward. He wondered…. Did Tsunade tell her about him, even though he made her promise not to? He hoped not.

He sighed, and his eyes flickered open to see Miori standing up, her eyes alight with cold triumph. He closed his eyes again, and struggled to get up. The poison was crippling, but if Miori killed him first… the fox would go down with him. If he stayed down, they would remove the fox, killing him and turning Miori into a truly ultimate weapon. He couldn't let that happen.

"Stubborn baka." Kabuto hissed. Miori jumped forward, growling and screaming in rage.

The fox managed to dispel some of it, and Naruto jumped out of the way, tripping as he did so. He was weakening. Blood was splattering out of his mouth, coloring the hallway. He held his hand to his mouth to stop the flow of crimson, until his hand was dripping with it. All he could do was run; he had no energy left.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Only three clones came to his aid, and Kabuto let out taunting laughter. Even Miori looked smug as she punched out one clone, and it instantly disappeared. The others jumped out of the way and started attacking Miori, but she was too focused to be concerned about pain.

In due time she finished off the rest of the clones, and only he remained. Miori let out a screech in victory before jumping forward.

More bugs had left their mark, and Naruto staggered against a wall. He slumped down it, dark red smearing against light brown. He was running out of breath, out of time. It all came to an end here… he had failed.

He heard Kabuto take a step forward, but then he heard sounds that didn't make any sense.

A rush of footsteps. Gasping for air. He flickered his eyes open to shut, and to his surprise he saw a fleeting glance of pink hair, and then he heard a loud slamming noise.

--

_:D_

_Hehe. I did it… ok. No more updates for you guys for a few weeks. I apologize, it's just the way things go. I have this tradition: I have to see my best friend that lives out of state once a year, therefore, I haven't seen her in a year. I'm not going to be on the computer too much. Thanks for understanding!_

_Well I feel better about last chapter, because this one is probably my favorite so far. This one I was just waiting for, and now it's out, and I feel pretty good about it. :D_

_Enjoy and review._


	14. Melting Point

Sakura stopped in the large room. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the harsh light, but once they did, she caught sight of the blonde haired ninja that she had been looking for in the corner, hunched over, and curled nearly in fetal position. Her heart leapt with relief when she saw his side was barely falling and rising. She fought the urgency to rush toward him, and first she looked around.

A malicious looking black haired girl was advancing upon him, her darker eyes flashing with a strange feature: she was totally emotionless. Her face was gaunt, her cheekbones hollow. The green eyed girl looked up again, and then she caught sight of Kabuto, standing with his arms crossed and glasses pushed down his nose.

And she understood immediately.

Sakura didn't even remember running. She didn't remember gasping from her sudden rush, she didn't remember anything. All she remembered was her fist crashing into the girl's face, and then she thrust her side into her with everything she had.

The girl's eyes widened with muted shock, until she hit the wall with a loud bang. She tumbled to the ground and didn't move, and without much more thought, Sakura ran over to Naruto.

His breathing was shallow and fast; he was pale despite the bruises and cuts that marked his face. She had to struggle to think medically, to think about what was wrong. Sakura pulled up one of his lips, and to her horror, his gums were inflamed, a classic sign of poisoning. Sakura swallowed hard with fear, until finally her brain started to function in full medic mode. She dug in her pouch, and finally he spoke.

"Sakura-chan?"

His voice was so weak, that Sakura felt she might start bawling from it. She shook her head hard. She had to stay calm, for his sake. The young kunoichi pulled out an antidote of her pouch, wincing from the yellow fluid.

"Yeah, it's me. Stay still, okay?" Sakura's tone was gentle, but brisk. It had to be, for her to keep herself under control. She pushed the bottom of the syringe to let out any air, and then the needle was in Naruto's arm. She waited until the yellow liquid disappeared, and now all there was to do was wait.

A few minutes later, Naruto was stirring. She quickly took a glance at that black haired woman, but she was still slouched over. Obviously Naruto had done a number on her. Blood was seeping out of her chest, and she was badly cut up. Naruto had damage as well, but Sakura felt a surge of protective pride. Even when he was that sick, he was a fighter till the end. Kabuto was slouched over, desperate to heal all the damage. But her first priority was the weak man underneath her.

"Miori!" Sakura whipped around to see that Naruto was already straightening up, his eyes wild with fear. She stood up as he did, but Naruto was looking over at them. Kabuto had a lot to heal, and even Naruto could see that. He visibly relaxed, and looked over at Sakura. She was shaking. Why didn't he attack them before it was too late? But then again… why did he run out on her?

"Sakura-chan, I…"

She punched him in the face.

It wasn't the hardest she could do, but it certainly took him by surprise. He keeled backwards from the blow, and his hand shot up to his cheek. Sakura's hands curled by her sides, clenching into fists. Her head was down but her eyes were looking up, filling up with tears.

Naruto looked up, his eyes wide with shock. "What…"

"Do you know how worried I've been?" Sakura's eyes were wild with fury and terror. She watched with sick fascination as Naruto hesitantly took a step back. "With Hinata in the condition she is, Shino dying, and Chouji in a fucking _coma, _and then I hear from Tsunade you've run off!"

"How are they, by the way?" interrupted Naruto with a small voice.

Sakura rolled her eyes impatiently. "They're fine! Hinata shattered her leg, but she's under therapy and she's doing great, and Chouji regained consciousness a few days ago. Everyone's fine, but we were all worried SICK about you, couldn't you have at least said someth-"

She was abruptly cut off by Naruto pulling her into him, his arms wrapping around the small of her back. Her eyes widened, and then softened as she buried her head in his shoulder. She felt his chin rest against the top of her head, and Sakura had to fight back her tears.

"Thank you…" Naruto whispered, giving her a tight squeeze.

Sakura buried her face in his chest next, as if she wanted to get as close as humanly possible, or closer.

"You have no idea how scared I was," she choked out, her tears wetting his jacket. "It was just one thing after another! I know you left to protect the village, but… you could have said something!" She looked at him. "I would have gone with you, you know…"

"Would you now?" he asked quietly, and he pushed her back a little to look at her. His eyes looked sad, but Sakura was taken aback from the intensity. "I couldn't have done that, Sakura-chan. It was just to keep you safe…"

"From something that was my fault." Sakura's voice was quiet. She pulled him to her again. "But, Hinata did make me realize something…"

She couldn't finish her sentence, because Naruto almost violently pushed her away.

As she was falling, Miori was charging straight towards Naruto. Sakura managed to grab hold of her footing, and she leaned over to size up the situation. Near her, Kabuto was cackling.

"Isn't this great?" he laughed, his eyes the only feature in his face not filled with mirth. "Not only do I get the nine tailed fox, but also the bitch's healing abilities? This is better than I even planned!"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed, and she whipped her face to him. It must have been etched with a billion questions, because he continued on. "They killed Shino! Miori's under Kabuto's mind control… and she can use his bugs!"

It was enough detail at the time.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Hundreds of copies had appeared, and Miori and Kabuto's eyes bulged. Sakura felt a shot of pride: with his new reason, protecting her, he was tapping into the fox's chakra to fight back. Sakura leapt into action. She hid behind one of the clones, obviously Miori and Kabuto were too busy to notice her.

Miori obviously wasn't thinking straight. Her rage had forced her to completely forget Sakura, and she ordered her bugs to search for Naruto… and only Naruto. She didn't have half the experience with bugs as Shino had, and this was a relief to Sakura. Even in death, Shino had still come through for them.

Luckily, Miori was the one to punch the lights out of the clone Sakura was behind, and the pink haired kunoichi leapt into action. She punched Miori in the chest with all the force she could muster. Miori crashed to the floor, and the clones all ganged up on her, disappearing occasionally because of the bugs.

"_The female bug is probably latched on to me by now," _Sakura thought tightly as she leaped back. That meant that her surprise attack wasn't going to work again. She had made her mark, and now all she could do was full out combat.

She immediately threw a kunai, mechanically and with a fluid motion, as Miori threw one at her. The other girl jumped to her feet, and she wildly looked around. She was obviously confused who to fight.

"Get Naruto!" Kabuto screeched, obviously unable to fight from keeping Miori under control. "Once you get him, the girl will be easy! Kill him!"

Miori jumped, attacking clones. She was learning more and more in the fight, Sakura realized with horror, for she was growing faster and her moves were much more decisive. She whirled, her fists connecting with more and more clones. The poof of smoke was becoming more and more rapid, as the bugs also helped her.

"Rasengan!"

Sakura whirled her head to see the real Naruto, a couple of clones by his side to scratch at the ball that formed in his hand. His blue eyes were practically slits with pure hatred and rage.

And he was running.

This time the bugs were dashing towards him, and Miori was running along with them. Naruto's antidote would last another five minutes, so that wasn't a problem, but Miori…

Sakura dashed forward.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto roared, but she knew what she was doing. She threw herself behind the black haired girl, and her fists collided with Miori's back. Naruto let out a small grin before his own attack its mark, but instead with more force.

The blast of the impact knocked Sakura over, and she skidded along her back before she hit a wall. She quickly scrambled to her feet. This was far from over.

But Naruto was staring at Miori, and in this time, in a hopeful way. Miori shook her head a little, and when she looked up, her eyes were a soft brown before flickering back to black.

Naruto took a step forward, but it was too late.

Miori shot up to her feet, but she was not going towards him. Instead, she whirled around and ran towards Sakura.

"No!"

Sakura was still struggling to get up, and she didn't know Miori was charging until the other girl was practically on top of her. Bugs were biting and injecting venom, and Sakura hit the wall on the other side.

However, Naruto was whipping up another Rasengan, and despite Kabuto yelling a warning, he hit his mark again in Miori's back. She crumpled down to the floor, and Kabuto charged to heal her again.

But Naruto was already one step ahead of him. His punch caught Kabuto in the back, and with a cry of surprise, he was knocked down. Sakura's eyes flickered open to see him running towards her.

"Sakura-chan?" he gasped, grabbing her hand.

The pink haired girl blinked rapidly, fighting to stay conscious. "Pouch…" she gasped, her words choppy. "There's… another… syringe…"

Naruto was wrestling through her side pouch, and Sakura tilted her head. Kabuto was certainly delayed by his frenzied attack, but he struggled to get up and was now heading towards Miori. For some reason, he wasn't healing all her wounds…

She couldn't think about that now.

She watched him pull out a syringe that she had used on him earlier, and he looked questioningly at Sakura. She weakly reached for it, and he gently put it in her hand. Gritting her teeth with the effort, she dragged it towards her other arm.

"Why didn't you use it before?"

"Because now it'll last longer," she snapped feebly. He looked at her as she sprayed the air from it, and then injected it into her arm.

"Hold them off…"

Naruto shot up, and Sakura watched as he punched Miori and summoned his clones. She took deep breaths, knowing it would increase the healing process. Slowly, she felt the poison disintegrate from her blood.

"_It doesn't make sense…Why wouldn't he heal her all the way?"_

"Naruto!" she shouted. "He's controlling her with his life chakra! If he heals her too much he'll die!"

The information was useless at first, but then Naruto's eyes widened in recognition. If she died, Kabuto would be left with a choice. Let her die and the success would be a failure. Or heal her all the way, and he would die.

This information seemed to give Naruto a newfound strength, and Kabuto's eyes glinted with fury. Just from the look on his face, she knew her estimate was right. She dragged herself to her feet, and she plunged towards Kabuto.

Naruto dealt with Miori as Sakura and Kabuto clashed, their healing and attacking skills truly to the test. Kabuto lashed out with the tendon cutting chakra, but Sakura ducked and punched him in the face. Her speed had greatly improved by battling with Hinata, as well as her reflexes, and they were finally paying off.

She heard grunts from Miori as Naruto spent blow after blow on her, but she didn't pay too much attention to it. All her attention was spent on Kabuto, until finally, his eyes flashed.

And everything had gone into slow motion.

Miori whirled around from where Naruto's blows were raining down on her, and she took off running. Naruto missed with one punch, and he let out a howl of frustration, and then terror.

Miori's punch caught her in the back, and Kabuto was muttering something, and then the room blew apart. The force of it made Sakura go flying backwards, her hair fluttering around her face.

"Sakura-chan!" She heard Naruto screaming in the background, but it was so quiet… she saw a view of a capsule, with what seemed to be a human inside. But it didn't matter, did it? The only thing that mattered was Naruto's voice.

"_I love him, I love him, I love him."_

Her train of thought cut off as her head cracked against glass.

--

_Drama, drama, drama._

_I'M BACK! (obviously) This story IS going to finish up soon… joy… then I'm writing original fics!_

_If I say that this chapter was a real breeze to write, does that mean I have violence issues?_

_Be thankful though. I'm putting off all four of my original fics just so I can finish this one… well, you know the drill. Review. _


	15. Feelings Have Eyes

Naruto froze, and his mind started to reel at an alarming rate. He barely understood the explosion. He didn't even realize it when Miori clubbed him over the head. All he saw was glass cracking in the pattern of a spider web, and then shattering. The body inside the capsule fell to the side, and the liquid incasing her spilled out like blood.

Sakura crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Her eyes were closed, and her skin was so pale… He took off running, less-than-neatly dodging Miori and Kabuto's blows. He collapsed on his knees by Sakura's side.

"Sakura-chan?" His whisper seemed lost in the chaos. He spoke louder. "Sakura-chan?"

She didn't move. Her closed eyes were a dark purple, a shocking contrast against her ghostly face. He brushed her wet hair out of her face, and after hesitating he smoothed his hand to the back of her head.

He felt something warm and sticky, and when he withdrew his hand, he stared at the coppery red color. Naruto flinched back, and he began to shake. He looked around wildly, seeing that some of the shards of glass were smeared with the color red. And with that, Naruto let out a roar.

"Miori! Move!" Kabuto screamed, but it was too late.

Naruto's psyche was barely even conscious. Instead, fiery red chakra shot out in all different directions. Blood was pouring out of his mouth, but he couldn't even feel it. Only his rage could be seen, and heard, and felt. Chakra was surrounding him as well as spreading through the room. He didn't care anymore.

"Why?!" he screamed, not even knowing what he was asking. He felt his whisker marks burning deeper into his face, without the burning sensation. He was faster, stronger. Now they would truly pay. He let out a snarl with bared teeth. It was like they were screaming at his opponents to even _try _to take him down.

Kabuto tried in vain to cut through Naruto's defenses, and Naruto let out a shout in triumph as his fox-chakra slammed him against the walls. He let out another growl in satisfaction as blood smeared across the dirt.

He then whirled around and punched Miori, with strength he had before, but tenfold. Miori crumpled across the floor, screeching as she did so, and he returned to start pounding on Kabuto again.

He watched in satisfaction as blood spurted out of his nose, mouth, the cuts in his face… blood. That was all that mattered. As long as he felt what Sakura did, he would be satisfied. Only a thread of conscience was stopping him from doing the same thing to Miori.

Soon that thread would snap, and he would truly be alone.

Not that he was complaining. Sakura was lying there, dying or dead possibly, and it was _all their fault. _His fault too, because he couldn't prevent it. Self-loathing and hatred filled to the brim, and spilled over. A vicious roar ripped its way through his sharper teeth, and he leapt into action against Miori. She had stood up, ready to fight back, and he wouldn't have that happening.

He heard a crushing noise as Miori's head snapped sideways, and he vaguely wondered if he broke her neck. To his very inner relief, her hand shot up to her cheek and staggered back, but she was still very much alive. He had broken her cheekbone, and nothing more.

Miori's eyes had faded back into the chocolate brown color, and Naruto let out a gasp. It was the first time he saw the color since Kabuto took her over for the second time. He slowly fought off the fox's power, since he had no bone to pick with this half of her. Naruto dashed to catch her as Miori stumbled towards him. Kabuto was obviously healing his wounds, but Naruto was focused on dragging Miori to a wall. She immediately slouched on it, gasping for breath.

"Naruto-san." She looked deep in his eyes, and Naruto was taken aback from the sudden intensity. Last time she was awakened, she was confused, disoriented. Now… there was a sudden clarity.

"That girl… you love her, right?" she whispered, her eyes blazing despite the blood dripping down from her wounds. She straightened up, ignoring the spurts of blood. "All my fault… why couldn't I see?"

"It's not your fault!" The injustice of it all faded Naruto's whisker marks, and his eyes completely lost the red. "It isn't! How could you have known? How could you-" He cut himself off as the tragedy in Miori's eyes suddenly faded to blazing determination. When she punched him, Naruto was totally taken aback.

Her eyes were still brown.

Naruto clumsily dodged the blows, and he heard Kabuto yell, "That's right, Miori! Finish him off!" When disgust flared up in her features, Naruto understood immediately. The blows that did land upon him were soft, but they looked hard to any other person. She was faking it, and he would do his best to help her.

A flash of silver fell through the air, and Miori caught it without a second thought. It was a katana, and Miori's eyes widened with disgusted fear.

"Miori! _Finish him off!_"

Slowly, comprehension dawned. Naruto looked at her questioningly, and that fiery willpower flowed over her face once more.

"Punch me."

Naruto stared at her.

"Just do it!" Miori hissed, neatly spinning away from him so she was behind him. "Do it really hard!"

Her low whispers were barely audible, and Naruto was so confused that he couldn't think straight. But if she insisted on it… The blonde ninja whirled around and punched her in the chest, and she flew back. Her fall was stopped, and Naruto, in the harsh light, could see Kabuto catching her before she fell. He felt guilt crush him. Kabuto would figure her façade out shortly.

His arms wrapped around her ribs, and her back molded into his chest. The katana lay limp in her hand, and she looked up, locking eyes with Naruto.

The blonde ninja saw pain in her eyes. Pain, terror, anger, hatred. They all flooded into him, and Naruto nearly broke down just seeing it. It reminded him of Sakura that night, when he finally confronted her and caused her all this pain… but what scared him most was he could see grim resolution. When he saw that in Sakura's face, she ended up hurting him even more.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed, and tears welled up. They slowly fell down her face and her hair fell, shielding her expressions. When she looked up, there was so much ferocity that Naruto took one step back. Her teeth gritted, and then it was all a blur.

She rammed the katana through her chest.

Kabuto's eyes bulged, his own heart punctured by the glistening sword. He tore himself from Miori and the blade, and Naruto was dropping down on his knees to catch Miori before she could do even more damage.

He looked up to see Kabuto wandering aimlessly, staggering in the dirt. Drops of blood marked his trail, and finally, he reached his finally failed experiments. He touched the glass.

"You'll never escape it." Despite his fatal wound, his voice was surprisingly clear. "No matter how you die, with honor, or if it's a suicide, or if you fall in an unjust battle, or you just simply die of old age, it's all the same in the end…" He coughed, blood smearing across his face. "You will die, along with Miori and Sakura both. No matter how much you fight the fox and hate it to push it back, you'll still fail!" He began to slouch down the glass.

"Just as I have tried to avenge my master." His whisper was barely audible. "And just as I have failed."

His eyes finally clouded, and his chest never rose again.

"Naruto-san…"

Naruto ripped his gaze to Miori's face. Blood was coming in dribbles out of her mouth, and her eyes were now dull. Her dirty clothes were slowly becoming drenched, and the sword heaved with her breathing.

Naruto didn't touch the blade. He knew she was done for.

She opened her mouth, but she coughed instead. Her torso was jerking. She let out a thin, frustrated smile, and her breathing was suddenly shallow.

"It's okay." Miori managed to whisper, her voice as soft as a caressing breeze. "It's okay. I know who I am. It's such a relief, even knowing what the other half of me truly is… I'm just sorry I couldn't make a new person of myself…"

Slowly her eyes closed, but her breathing continued. Naruto was aware of her fist clutching his shirt, and slowly she went paler and paler as life drained out of her.

"I'll make a new life for you," Naruto said brokenly. "Seriously. You'll be shaking your head wherever you'll be when I'm through with the village." He saw a small smile creep across Miori's face. Encouraged, he went on, ranting. "You'll be a hero, even though they never knew you. Kabuto was such a threat, and when they know you took him down… they won't remember you as an experiment, they'll remember you as one of the greatest kunoichi…"

His ramble trailed off. Her breathing had faded out into seemingly unbroken silence and her fist had dropped down to the dirt floor. She looked like she was sleeping, and Naruto was about to convince himself that was a fact, but deep down the truth was there.

Miori would never wake up.

Slowly, after his tirade, he gently slid himself out from underneath her body. Gazing down, he took in her ghostly white skin, bruised eyes, and dark brown hair. Her head had rolled to the side, and he slowly withdrew the sword. It didn't feel right to leave it there. It clanged against the ground, and finally Naruto made himself walk away. He stumbled towards the person that had a chance of being saved.

"Sakura-chan?"

She was just as pale as Miori, but when he put two fingers on her neck, he felt a flutter of a pulse. Heart leaping, he gently picked her up. Naruto fastened her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The unconscious girl's head drooped next to his, and he walked forward. Naruto's vision was swimming before his eyes, but he couldn't black out now. He had to come back alive, for all three of them.

Miori had the right of it.

--

"Naruto-kun!"

He staggered through the forest and went down to his knees, Sakura falling off his other side. She had bled very little during the journey, thankfully, so now he just had to focus on keeping his heart beating. He was panting, coughing.

"Naruto-kun!" The blonde ninja dimly recognized the voice of Hinata's, and then he heard another shriek from her, as well as others.

"Sakura-san!"

He looked up, his breathing choppy. Naruto began to fall completely, but someone caught him under the arms.

"Hang in there!" Hinata's voice was unusually fierce, but he wasn't sure if he could do what she commanded. The pain in his chest was searing, so intense that all the rest of his injuries were numb. Hinata's shoulder caught his head, and he looked to the side.

He saw Tsunade work fiercely over Sakura, wrapping her head and administering syringes. She must have felt his intense stare, because the older woman turned her head towards him.

"You were right, Granny," he slurred his voice. What was wrong with him? "She is really stubborn. It's going to suck having another you around."

He blacked out.

--

_Next chap is the last. Yep, I said it._

_No fussing. It's about time this ended. I want to move on from FFN, it's draining the shit out of me. My original works ARE online, so if you want to see those, let me know._

_Thanks a lot you guys. This couldn't have possibly made it without you. Cliché, I know, but true. This would have remained a oneshot, and I wouldn't have challenged myself as much as I have done with this one. I've truly developed, I think, and now… I can move on._

_Dear Lord__, I've gotten LAME with the chapter titles. Breaking Point? Point in Time? Melting Point? The title and the first chapter is Boiling Point? And the next chapter is going to have a Point in it too. Just shoot me._

_Oh yeah. Before I forget. A lovely reviewer by the name of **Tammie Silveira? **Go read her new story. Now. It's her first one in English, but it's pretty damn good. Go read and review it. Hon, I'll review it when I get off my lazy butt. I have read it, it's great, but I'll review it and go into detail at some point in time. When I don't suck. ;)_

_Thanks again!_


	16. Epilogue: Speak

Breathing isn't as hard as it was. I can feel it come in, then fall out. Each breath seems like a blessing, something that I should be thankful for. The value of my own life has increased significantly, and not just to me. To everyone else, too.

And it's just not me dying; it's when the other girl in my life faded into time, letting time take her from the world forever. It was a blessing for her as well, even if it's hard for me to admit it. She had no power over her life, but now, wherever she is, she's free. She can run, scream, laugh, hope… without anyone else to take that away from her.

It's always something I have to learn, but I feel like I can grasp it. Even if it's just for a second, I know what my past, present, and future has taught me. My life is not as a whole, but in each second. My memories are what make me, me. My present is what forms my life. My future is my uncertainty and doubts. But for once, I have no fear.

Even though I carried her back, it is she that brought me home.

--

"_She's in a coma."_

Those words still rang through Naruto's mind, even though it was a good week later. He shook his head slowly, urging the fact that Sakura could very well be lost to them forever out of his mind. She needed more than that now.

He sat at the edge of his chair, pushed forward so it was as close to the bed as humanly possible. She was pale, pale as the night Miori died and he managed to drag her home. The bruises on her face were fading, but her eyelids were still dark. Blankets were drawn to her shoulders, and pillows propped her head up. She looked like she could wake up at any minute, but Naruto, deep down, knew the truth.

He ignored her eyes flickering open now and then, her arm moving across the bed. It was a coma, and a patient moving now and then was normal. He remembered freaking out the first time she did that, and his hopes shattered under Tsunade's words. It didn't mean anything. Only if she reacted to him, or her surroundings, was it important.

Naruto didn't know how long he sat there. He sat there for several hours, each day, talking to her. Tsunade said that talking almost always helped, and even if it didn't, it didn't hurt to try. Her brain wasn't as bad off as Chouji's was; she managed to twist her fall so when her head cracked against glass it was muffled. But even so… everyone was different. The brain was tricky work, Tsunade said, so it made little to no difference. A coma was a coma, and it was up to Sakura's subconscious now.

"Miori told me to tell you my true feelings again, you know," he said for the umpteenth time that day. He was beyond tears. "That I love you and all that stuff. Sappy stuff you'd probably punch my lights out if I even mentioned it.

"I don't know what to do really, not anymore," he continued, his voice dull. "I try talking and you don't even react. It's like talking to a brick wall. Yes, you can quote me on that. When you wake up, I give you full permission to beat the snot out of me. But it's true. The only thing that's keeping me going is that you might be okay, you know?"

He rambled on, much like with Miori. But Sakura's heartbeat wasn't fading. It was the only thing keeping him going. Her eyes rolled open, much like countless times before. The vivid emerald pierced Naruto like so many times before, and now it was easy to pretend she could be all right.

Tsunade rushed into the room.

"Gomen. I didn't realize you got here so early."

It was true. Naruto had arrived a few hours earlier today than usual. He couldn't sleep, and he skipped the daily ramen. He wasn't hungry. He could eat later. The nurses were now friends with him, and with some extra coaxing he got in before opening hours.

"She's been reacting to the tests." Tsunade's words came out in a rush, and Naruto's heart leapt. "Her head and hand movements have been more apparent, it seems, and she's been blinking. Luckily, it's only been a week, so she will probably make a full recovery and not take long to fully function. She…"

The older woman immediately cut off, and Naruto whipped his head over to Sakura. Her eyes were still open, but they were blinking. The haze of sleep seemed to disappear from her eyes, and she opened her mouth.

Tsunade dashed out of the room, obviously to give the news to the doctors and other friends waiting outside. Naruto stayed where he was, staring at Sakura's mouth.

"Naruto." It was a brief whisper, so short, so perfect… it was almost as if it didn't happen. But Naruto saw a small smile take over Sakura's face, and it confirmed she had spoken. He finally awoke from his nightmare.

He let out a loud whoop.

--

His eyes are always there, even when darkness threatens to swallow me whole. I stand still, and he is pushed forward… I couldn't let that happen. My thoughts are pushing the barrier, and even now I can feel myself break free.

One of my best friends loved him. Loved him enough to let him go, and she taught me how to let go of the past I was so infatuated with. Love wasn't brittle; it could bend and take so many different shapes. She knows me better than I know myself.

My faith remains as it is. The future is a fog, a fog I can't see through… but it's okay. As long as I have control over each moment, my power can reach without limits. I made one bet, and it paid off: I fell in love again, and even though it was against the odds, I found the strength to find myself again.

Even it's a chance with too great of a risk.

--

Sakura's eyes slowly opened. She was reacting more and more as time went by, and now her brain didn't feel like a big pile of fried mush. Naruto's voice and Tsunade's constant assistance got her sitting up, and today she managed to walk a few steps. She was making process, and now one thing was on her mind: making sure Naruto was all right.

"Did you look him over?" Sakura demanded of her sensei when she walked in. Tsunade was quickly doing some tests, and Sakura impatiently complied. She still remembered her last thoughts before everything went black.

"Hai." Tsunade seemed reluctant to share much else, and Sakura was rapidly getting anxious and jumpy. Luckily, Tsunade seemed to take pity on her.

"His deterioration has slowed, but it's still happening." Tsunade straightened. "I have taken him as my other student, so he can become Hokage." Sakura's eyes widened, and her hands gripped the sheets. What was she saying?

"I've found a way to slow it down. But… it's not enough. The process has slowed, but it will probably still come." Tsunade shook her head hard, but not before Sakura saw the tears in her eyes. "He can take my place briefly. I'll replace him one day, probably, once again."

"_Just like the Third." _Sakura pushed the haunting thought out of her mind. Both the Third _and _the Fourth had died eventually. What if the same thing happened with the Fifth and the Sixth? Sakura shook her head. It was a coincidence. Nothing more. They wouldn't both die.

"How long?" Her whisper was quiet.

"A year. Maybe two, if we're lucky and he takes care of himself. Which we know he won't. The village, and the people in it, are more important to him than his life. He'd go nuts if he was locked up in here." Tsunade straightened, resting her forehead on her palm. "I'm so tired. It's just one thing after another, and now we're going to lose him."

Sakura felt her heart sink, before her eyes narrowed. There was only a year left? Fine. But… she would be there, every step of the way. She wouldn't leave him. Not now, not ever. Not ever again.

"There is one hope…"

The young kunoichi pounced on it, grasping on the lifeline that was finally cast into the sea. Her heart swelled until it broke free of the ice surrounding it, and the rest of her body was on meltdown. Could she be allowed to have faith, just this once…?

"Our technology is advancing. We could be able to slow down the fox's chakra eating away at him. Enough for it to matter. However, there's just no way to know. We don't know if we'll develop this too late. Or if it'll only earn us a few years. Or if we could get him to live out his years. We just don't know. But… it's the only thing we've got left. The only thing left to hope for. I'd rather have that faith than give up on him."

Sakura was nodding before her mentor even finished. "Hai," she said softly, straightening up. "If it's the only chance we have… I'll take it. I'm so sick of hiding when things get tough, or when something looks impossible." Her eyes focused with a sharp clarity, knowing what she must do. "We'll make our way through this. I know it."

--

Without her, I'm not intact.

Without confirmation about him, I can't be with her.

--

"What?!" Naruto winced from Sakura's shriek. He finally broke the news: he had accepted the mission to go after Sasuke. "Are you completely NUTS?! Have you taken leave of your senses? You could die, and then you can't be Hokage, and…"

"Sakura-chan, please!" Naruto interrupted quickly. "I _have _to do this. I gave you the promise pose, remember?"

He almost laughed as Sakura gave a very unladylike snort. "Please! You ripped it off of Rock Lee, it hardly counts!"

"It does to me." Sakura opened her mouth like a fish out of water, her jaw working but with nothing to say. He gave her a helpless grin. "Even if I don't bring him back, I need solace. Peace of mind, you know? And I think you do too…"

"No, I don't!" Sakura's rebuttal was fierce.

"Um…what?" Naruto's eyebrows shot way up. She _loved _Sasuke, didn't she? It was obvious. It was what started his downward spiral in the first place. He didn't blame her, because Hinata was forced to go through the same thing because of him. He was dying, and Sakura would want Sasuke back in his place.

"I don't want him to come back!" Sakura shrieked, and he was taken aback from the rush of angry tears down her face. "I don't! Not if it means losing you. I can't. I can't go through that again."

Naruto was staring at her the entire time she was shouting at him, but this wasn't one of their typical arguments. Deep down, he started to get it, but he couldn't quite dare…

"You know what it took to get my sorry ass to chase you? Hinata beat the crap out of me. Literally. She loves you enough to let go, and she knocked sense into me when she had a leg in fucking physical therapy!" Her voice was in hysterics now, and Naruto squeezed himself against the chair.

Sakura swung her legs over the side of the bed, and before he could protest, she was standing up and her face was menacingly close to his. "Finally she told me something that was the first thing that made sense in weeks. It made me leave, and chase after _you _instead of Sasuke. Can you guess what it is?"

Naruto didn't respond, instead, he stared into her eyes. They were flashing with her inhuman rage, as well as fear and something else. Something he couldn't identify.

Sakura looked down before moving to sit on the bed again. Naruto scooted his chair closer to her, and then rested his elbows on his thighs. He put his chin in his hands, and continued to stare at her. He tilted his head almost comically. It was impossible to read her face, and his frustration was starting to boil.

"Sakura-chaaaaaan," he finally whined. "I didn't read 'How Guys Can Read Girls' Minds,' you know."

"Baka!" Sakura punched him in the shoulder, and pain shot up to his neck. He hissed under his breath, but he refused to complain much more. He couldn't distract her more than that. Sakura rolled her eyes and let out a huff of breath. The blonde blinked. What was so hard to say out loud?

"She said that I probably love you more than Sasuke," she said flatly. "And that I should get used to it, because it isn't going to change."

Naruto's jaw fell open.

"It's too late, I know, but I'm just going to say it now." She looked up, and obviously ignored Naruto's open mouth. "I love you. Truly. More than Sasuke, more than anyone. I was thinking about it before I hit-"

He was lunging towards her.

She let out a shriek as his mouth fastened on hers and knocked them both onto the bed, but she was kissing him back, vigorously. Naruto's fingers weaved in her hair and in one of her hands, while her other hand was digging into his back. Finally Naruto turned his head and leaned towards her ear.

"Say it again." Naruto buried his face in her neck, and she let out a quiet sigh.

"I love you." The words were softer and sent shudders down his spine, having more of an effect than her skin.

"Now was that so hard?" Sakura impatiently blew a huff into the air above them, but she shuddered when he smiled into her skin. Naruto finally looked back up into her sparkling eyes, and he finally located the emotion hidden in them. He had rarely seen it, so no wonder he didn't know it.

"And just to let you know," he began cheekily, and grinned when she rolled her eyes, "I love you too."

Her smile was enough to light a thousand of his days.

--

He had to go, I've come to realize.

But always, I'll be right here, waiting.

--

He was leaving.

Despite her rants and confessions, Naruto had to go. She knew that as well as anyone. He needed his peace of mind. Whether that ended in Sasuke's death, or him coming home, or things staying exactly as they were: he needed to cut or mend his ties. So he could truly move on.

Sakura still didn't have to like it.

She raged, she pleaded, she screamed and practically destroyed everything around her; anything to make him stay. Her rage only faded into silence when she saw the fire and resolve in Naruto's eyes.

He kissed her, and she lost all her reasoning. He had made up his mind. She couldn't change it.

But Tsunade could. Once she was sure he was dead set on going, she gave him ninja to go with: Hinata, who was nearly fully recovered; Tenten, Kiba, Lee, and Neji. All were fiercely devoted to the mission, all for different reasons. Sakura couldn't go; she was still too weak. But she would recover, and wait for him to come back. He promised he would come back.

Sakura was briefly worried about the problems Hinata would post, but then the coy side of her blossomed when she saw Kiba hesitantly reached out for Hinata's hand. She didn't let go.

They were all moving on.

Naruto was standing there, in his ridiculous orange outfit, but he somehow made it look noble. His blonde hair was flying in his matured blue eyes, until he looked over at her. They softened.

"Naruto!" she shrieked, and she was running.

Naruto was ready to catch her, and her body turned into a livewire as he lifted her up, up, and she kissed him with all the force she could. Sakura cracked open her eyes to see Hinata smiling, and everyone else looking slightly disgusted. She smiled into Naruto's mouth, until her need overcame her.

"Come back," she muttered.

"I will. Promise."

With that, he set her on the ground. He gave her his trademark smile, and Sakura felt her human eyes weren't enough to truly memorize everything about it. Finally, he gave her hand a squeeze and let go. The team took off out the gates, and she watched after them, even when they were long gone.

"_Be safe."_

--

When it comes down to it, it was never about the past. It's not about the present, or the future either. As paradoxical as it sounds. It's never about one thing, or one singular moment to cling to.

I have faith, but I'm not sure if it'll benefit me in the end. He could die. He could come back, with Sasuke, but it made no difference to me whether he came back or not. Or maybe it did. Maybe I need the peace, too.

But what then? We would lose him in a year. Maybe we'll find a cure for him, perhaps not. However, I'm not afraid. Because after all this, I realized something. It keeps me going, keeps me alive while Naruto lives. I'm not scared for the future, because that's not what my life is. It isn't the present, and it isn't the past.

It's all the single moments. The moments with every passing second, or the ones I treasure. It isn't the time as a whole. I didn't lose my treasured times at all. They were buried alive, but I can dig them back up again. That's my life. All the moments I live, the mistakes I make, and my strength growing and building with every bit of pain. My memories are me. And now, I can make my own self once again.

They all exist, inside and outside of me. All of them. Look, there. There. There. Then.

_Now_.

_**END**_

--

_Yeah, I rushed. No, I don't care. I may edit it later. Might not. I don't know. But right now, I just want to get this done. I had a crisis with my mom, and school started. And this has been hanging over my head…I just wanted it done._

_At any rate. Thank you! Every last one of you. I love you all, and I'm so glad you stuck with me. Yes, it's truly over. NO sequel. (Any one who begs for one, I'll ignore you.) But thank you, THANK you for making me write this into a full story. ;) I didn't want the ending to be happy or sad, and since that's weird, I settled for bittersweet instead.  
_

_Anyway. The reason why I left a few ties loose was because I want you guys to imagine what happens. It's not up to me. It's up to you. Kinda like __The Lady and the Tiger__. Whether Naruto dies? You imagine it. What happens to Sasuke? Once again, you imagine it. If you ask me, I won't tell you. I THINK I know what happens. But that's because I read the story over, and I drew my opinions. I want to let you guys have yours. If I tell you, it confirms it, because I wrote it._

_I lied about having "Point" in the title. I liked "Speak" better. Sorry!_

_Thank you again. This was a really sick ride, and I wouldn't have pulled this out of my ass if it wasn't for you guys. Thanks again, and PM me if you wish to read my original works._


	17. Author's Note! PLEASE read!

_Hi, it's me. After over a year, it's me. You're not seeing things, and you aren't imagining it. Just hear me out real quick, even though I'm old news, and then you can do whatever you want. I won't stop you._

_It's been a year since I finished Trapped in the Vortex, and what's really creepy is that I started writing this when I was fifteen years old, and I was just going into the story with a fake confidence and exaggerated, blowing-up cocky attitude. But as the years went by, Trapped in the Vortex and Boiling Point helped bring me where I am today, and I can't help but think I have to do them some sort of justice._

_It's three years later after I started TitV and now, I'm an eighteen-year-old college student with some experiences under her belt. And what's funny, I retired from FFN and wanted to get started on original works, with some success. I quit sites and found new ones, and the adventure made me grow even more, and now my writing is significantly stronger._

_However, since I AM now a college student in her first semester, I have had some insecurities, and with my new works, I just can't work on them. It's obnoxious. I've worked so hard, and for what? Then a fellow writer told me to work on some exercises and study the craft books, and that's what I planned to do. However, exercises just aren't enough for me, and I want to do something big to boost my confidence and get my ideas back. I came back to FFN and read over my stuff, and I started thinking more, and this is what I came up with._

_I think I'm going to rewrite/revise TitV and BP.  
_

_Yeah, I know I sound insane, but it's something I actually really want to do. So, if you guys have ANY recollection of me at all, shout out. Give me your suggestions, questions, comments, support, criticism, flames, tells of me losing my mind, whatever. Every bit helps._

_Thank you from this reappearing crazy woman!_

_Silver_


End file.
